Blood and Roses
by The Snow Mage
Summary: Chapter 8: Nearly two years have gone by since Raven killed her ex-husband, and Ruby has delved deep into the criminal underbelly in her city searching for answers. When Cinder returns with a much more proactive plan for taking over the city, Ruby comes to understand exactly the forces she's involved herself with - just in time for Beacon High to collapse.
1. Chapter 1

**Note as of 6/1/2018** : Part 1 (Chapters 1-7) of this story is very slice of life, with only minimal references to the crime drama that it was supposed to be. This changes in Part 2 (starting at Chapter 8), where the main characters are more involved. And emotionally disturbed, but that's less relevant. Oh, and it was secretly a sort of crossover with Bloodborne; specifically, its going to tell a version of Bloodborne's backstory using RWBY characters, but that's a long term goal that probably won't _actually_ start until part 4, which will denote the end of this section of the story. At that point, this - Blood and Roses - will be flagged as "Complete" and I'll begin posting the second half in the Crossover section of this site.

If you would like to skip to Part 2, ignoring the slice of life segment of this story, please proceed to Chapter 8. I have attempted to make it somewhat easy to start reading at that chapter. **End Note.**

As is the norm for my stories (starting at Fallout: Remnant), **you can skip to the set of bolded X's if you want to skip the opening Author's Notes**. I know that not everyone wants to read them, and I like to have a plan ready just in case I go off on a massive rant for whatever reason.

Hello, everyone. This is the story of a girl with a very strange fate...

You know what? No. Fuck that.

RWBY. High School AU. You know the drill. There will be fighting, but most of that comes later.

Abandon your preconceptions at the door. This is as much a thought experiment as a story. Characters will not always fit their canon depictions; in fact, that will become exceedingly rare as this story marches on.

Very brief explanation: the high school depicted is a three-year school, going from freshman straight to junior and senior; this is based off of the Japanese education system, and there will be other holdovers as well (no elaboration for now). Other than that, though, expect many Americanisms, especially regarding the police force.

You may have noticed the tags for this story's genre are fairly unusual. That's because I'm only allowed to mark it with two genres, and had a hard time deciding between the multiple genres I'll wind up hitting throughout this story. So, Crime/Friendship it is. We'll get to the Horror/Angst/Hurt/Comfort/etc. later, and there'll be some Romance throughout.

For the few of you who care about my other story, I'm putting it on hiatus for the time being, and I'm gonna rewrite it almost completely when I get back to it.

Disclaimer: I am not associated with Rooster Teeth or RWBY. This is a purely fan-made project that isn't being used to monetize or advertise anything. At absolute most, I'll say "Hey, I've got news, check my profile!" if something along those lines comes up; the extra step will likely dissuade most of you.

Second Disclaimer: I make no allowances for children. If you're a kid reading this, f*** off. It's rated M for some gods d***ed good reasons, crude language being the least of them.

Enough chatter: let's dive on in, shall we?

 **XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

 _The moon was full, as it always was in her dreams. Silver eyes met the same rotten holes she'd been seeing since she was little, peering into the black mind of the monster in front of her. The tube-like tendrils it had in place of hair swayed gently in an absent breeze as the moon turned red behind it._

 _Blood poured up from the earth beneath her feet as the creature stepped closer on its long, shambling legs. As its hand reached for her, silver light flashed between them and she heard a piercingly mournful wail._

"Gah!" Ruby Rose exclaimed, jack-knifing upright in her bed. Sweat-damped black hair clung to her forehead, the red highlights shining in the morning sunlight creeping through her window's blinds. She groaned, placing a hand to her aching head and dislodging the white-and-pink sheets that had clung to her sweaty pajamas; her silver eyes were held in a squint as she glanced at the alarm clock sitting on her bedside table, and she let out another groan when she saw that she'd woken up a full three minutes before it was set to go off. "Great," Ruby sighed, letting herself flop backwards, her head burying itself in her frilly pillows with a low _whumph_.

She stared up at the wide dreamcatcher hanging above her bed, the latest addition to the four others that surrounded it. "Waste of money," Ruby grumbled, shutting her eyes tightly for a moment before she blinked them rapidly, clearing as much lingering sleepiness as she could. "Well, might as well get up," Ruby muttered under her breath, sitting upright again.

The morning was a simple routine for Ruby: shower, brush teeth, get dressed, get breakfast. She shared a bathroom with her sister, but she didn't mind: Yang typically slept in as long as she could since her part-time job tended to keep her out late, and Ruby liked to get up nice and early just in case she needed the extra time.

She'd laid out her clothes the previous night. It wasn't something she normally did, mind you, but she'd been excited to be able to wear them; granted, her recurring nightmare seemed to suck that excitement from her like a vampire or a well-practiced hooker, but Ruby was still looking forward to today. Indeed, as she walked the short distance from her room to the bathroom, her new school uniform and some clean underwear bundled between her arms, Ruby hummed a soft, quiet tune to herself, something she rarely ever did.

The moment the door to the modest bathroom was locked, Ruby started stripping off her pajamas, grimacing with distaste when she had to peel them away from her skin; despite the setback, she was in the shower mere seconds later, steadily warming water cascading over her as she starting scrubbing the sweat from her body.

Ruby let out a sigh when the water finally started to steam, pausing in her washing to just take in its warmth. Then she yelped when her shampoo started to drip into her eyes, and she hurried to finish cleaning her hair and rinse it out of her eyes.

Her shower only lasted a few minutes, but that was the way she liked them: start cold and get out just as it starts getting too hot. She dried herself off with a fluffy white towel, noting with some disdain a couple of oddly stiff lines; Yang had been using her towel to wipe off her mouth after brushing her teeth again, it seemed.

"Why?" Ruby mumbled to herself as she reluctantly wrapped it around her shoulders and started to drag it across her arms. "She knows I dry my whole body with this, right?"

She took longer drying herself than she'd been in the shower; Ruby loved her towel, despite what her sister had done to it, and she loved feeling its soft fuzziness on her arms and legs. She used a different towel for her head and hair, not willing to put her lips anywhere near something her sister's had touched.

Once she'd finished drying herself, Ruby started brushing her teeth with a bit of strawberry flavored toothpaste; she couldn't stand mint. As she brushed, she looked herself over in the mirror, mostly looking at the muscle definition on her legs, stomach, and arms. She'd been working hard to make sure she got stronger and faster without getting too overly muscled; she didn't much like the way body-builders tended to look, and had no intention of looking like that herself. Of course, she also looked at her breasts, but that was mostly to compare herself to her sister, whose own assets had developed far better, in Ruby's opinion.

After brushing her teeth and getting dressed, Ruby took her sweat-soaked pajamas back to her room and threw them in the small clothes-basket sitting in one corner of her room, then walked downstairs to the kitchen, where she saw her father, Taiyang, making breakfast. His short blonde hair was well groomed, though Ruby still didn't know how he managed that before she was done getting ready most mornings, and he wore a plain sand-colored apron over his white shirt and blue jeans.

"Morning, Dad," Ruby said cheerfully, pulling out a chair from the simple oaken dining table and sitting down at it, being careful to lay the back of her pleated black skirt straight beneath her legs so it wouldn't fold and wrinkle; her white blouse would have been an odd contrast to it if not for the black blazer with red trim she wore over it, and her black leggings and plain white sneakers meshed with the outfit more easily than she'd first thought.

"Good morning, Ruby!" Taiyang exclaimed happily, turning to give her a grin and wink one of his blue eyes at her. "Pancakes sound good?"

"Sure," Ruby said, glancing up at the ceiling as she heard a muffled thump come from Yang's bedroom. 'She must've fallen off her bed again,' Ruby thought to herself, stifling a giggle by biting her lip.

"Good, cause that's what I made!" Taiyang said, placing three still-hot pancakes on a plate and covering them with whipped cream and strawberry syrup. "Eat up, Ruby!"

Ruby couldn't help but chuckle at seeing her father like this; it seemed to her that he was more excited than she was. "It's just my first day of high school, Dad," Ruby said, taking the plate and a fork from her father. She'd already cut a wedge from the stack of pancakes and shoveled it into her mouth by the time he turned back around, and she sighed with pleasure as the sweetness of the cream and syrup mixed on the fluffy cakes. "This is amazing," Ruby managed to say between bites.

"Glad to hear it!" Taiyang said, grinning over his shoulder at Ruby as he flipped the currently cooking pancake. "So, you ready for the big day?"

Ruby rolled her eyes as she chewed her latest bite, waiting until she'd swallowed it before she said, "Yes, Dad. We talked about this last night, remember?"

"I know, I know. Just making sure. Is Yang still planning on driving you there?"

"As far as I know," Ruby said, licking a stray bit of whipped cream off of her hand; how it got there, she'll never know. "She's got work after school, though, so I'll be taking the bus home. And before you ask, yes, I know which bus stops to go to and how to walk home from there."

"Okay, okay, Ruby!" Taiyang said, giving a self-deprecating laugh. "Jeez, you'd think I was asking to hold your hand on the trip there."

Ruby shook her head as she continued eating, glad to let the conversation stop where it had. She typically enjoyed talking to her father, but she had a hard time tolerating it when he was being over-protective.

Nearly twenty minutes later, Ruby heard the sounds of heavy footsteps stomping down the staircase and looked over her shoulder to see her half-sister, Yang. The blonde's hair was wrapped up in a towel (which was actually Ruby's, much to the younger girl's annoyance) and she was still a bit damp from her shower. Yang blinked owlishly at the scowl Ruby was giving her, her violet eyes dull until she understood why.

"Oh," Yang said, letting herself flop down into a chair next to her sister; she didn't bother adjusting her skirt, which was a variant of plaid with yellow as the main color, and her jacket was brown leather instead of the cotton-polymer blazer that was part of their uniform. "Sorry about using your towel again, Rubes. You know how I can get in the morning."

Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes. "We need a second towel rack," Ruby said to Taiyang, who chuckled.

"Pancakes?" Taiyang asked Yang, holding up a plate with a stack of four pancakes; instead of the sweet toppings that he'd laid on Ruby's pancakes, Yang's held a handful of chocolate chips melted into them.

"Thanks," Yang said, stifling a yawn into her hand as their father set the plate down in front of her. She didn't bother using a fork, instead tearing off small strips with her hands and eating them that way. "Good as always," Yang mumbled around a mouthful.

"Thanks!" Taiyang said, just as happy as he'd been when Ruby had praised him. "Oh, my two little girls!" Taiyang exclaimed suddenly as he looked at them, drawing a raised eyebrow from each of them. "One's just starting high school, and the other's starting her last year!"

"You really need to stop narrating things, Taiya," came the very feminine voice from the staircase. Ruby glanced over her shoulder and smiled as the older woman walked down slowly, the red highlights in her black hair brushing against her cheek as she gave Taiyang a warm, loving smile. Her silver eyes drifted to Ruby, and her smile widened at the sight of her daughter in her new uniform. "Good morning, everyone."

"Morning, Mom," Ruby said, grinning as Summer Rose reached the bottom of the staircase, idly adjusting her police uniform to keep her badge, tucked away in one of her blue jacket's inner pockets, from rubbing against a rather sensitive spot on her breast.

"Good morning, Ruby, Yang," Summer said, nodding her head at the two girls. "Taiya," Summer said when she reached him, tilting her head up as he leaned down to kiss her. It was brief, with no tongue, but it still caused Ruby to shift uncomfortably in her seat; much like most people, she didn't like seeing her parents be physically affectionate towards each other. "You made pancakes?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as Taiyang grinned at her.

"Felt like celebrating," he said, his voice low and quiet; it was an old habit of muffling his usually ecstatic self just in case she'd had a bad day, but it had gotten to the point that he just always acted like that around her, even this early in the morning. He was still feeling all his usual emotions, he just wasn't showing them anywhere near as much as usual. "And it's a good day for it, too!"

Ruby rolled her eyes at that, finishing her last bite of breakfast and chasing it with what was left of the glass of milk her father had set in front of her at some point. Taiyang handed Summer a massive stack of eight pancakes and gave her another little kiss, then started piling a fourth plate high with the rest of them as she sat down at the table.

"So, Ruby," Summer said, picking up one of her plain pancakes and tearing it into little strips; she liked to drag them through a lake of maple syrup, especially if she got to lick her fingers clean afterwards. "You think you're ready for today?"

"I was ready last year," Ruby said, rolling her eyes again. "Besides, today's gonna be easy: the principal's gonna talk to us at the morning rally, freshmen will be assigned their homerooms and the teachers will come to introduce themselves to us and talk about what they're _going_ to teach us. There shouldn't even be any homework."

Summer smiled at that, nodding her head. "Glad to see you're prepared," she said, gesturing with a bit of pancake she still held. "How about you, Yang?"

"Sure," Yang said, shrugging her shoulders. Her eyes were no longer half-closed from drowsiness, and she accepted the glass of lemonade Taiyang offered her with a "Thank you."

"Oh?" Summer asked, raising an eyebrow. "This isn't just the first day of your senior year, you know. It's also the first day I'm going to start yammering constantly about what colleges you should apply to."

Yang grimaced, hurrying to finish her latest bite before she spoke. "I still don't really know what I want to do with my life, Mom," Yang said, shaking her head slowly. "I've been considering a couple of things, but they don't really seem like they'd be that important to me."

Summer frowned, but nodded her head. "You've still got plenty of time," she said, putting a smile back on.

"Besides, there's been more and more people taking a year between high school and college," Taiyang said, settling himself down at the table with a mug of tea and a plate of pancakes, peanut butter and slices of banana layered between them. "You'll have more time than you know what to do with, if you do that."

"Now, now, don't go giving her any ideas," Summer chided him, though the amused spark in her silver eyes and her continued smiling showed that she didn't really mean it. "I do want to see her get a successful career before I die of old age, you know."

"You could always try law enforcement, like I'm going to," Ruby said as Yang continued to eat, only to raise an eyebrow as her older sister shuddered. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Rubes," Yang said around a mouthful of pancake. "Just don't think that's the sort of thing I'm interested in."

"Come on, Yang! Catching bad guys, helping people; what's not to like?" Ruby asked, not noticing that her parents had gone silent.

Yang grimaced, then shook her head and sighed. "Ruby, I'd rather not do anything that'd make me go anywhere near Raven," Yang said, making Ruby flinch. "Becoming a cop like Mom, or going to the Bureau like Uncle Qrow, seems like a bad way to stay away from her."

"S-sorry, Yang," Ruby said, lowering her gaze to the table. "I wasn't thinking."

Yang gave her sister a small smile and put her arm around her shoulders. "It's okay, Rubes. I know you just want to help."

Taiyang couldn't help but smile at his daughters, glancing to his wife to see that she evidently felt the same way. They were happy. Content. Not a single thing wrong in their lives, not a single thing they wished happened differently, and not a single thing they'd want to see more than their children continue to grow and prosper.

Not yet, anyway.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Thanks for the ride, Yang," Ruby said, taking off the simple black helmet Yang had loaned her as she dismounted her sister's motorcycle, its curvy yellow-and-grey steel frame gleaming in the morning sunlight.

"No problem," Yang replied, winking at Ruby as she took the spare helmet from her. "I'm gonna go park this thing, probably be gone for a few minutes, but then I'll give you the tour, okay?"

"Sounds good," Ruby said, smiling as she watched her sister drive away. With a nervous breath, she turned to face the school that she'd be spending the next three years of her life at: Beacon High.

There were three buildings at Beacon High: the main building, often referred to as the "Crown" for the oddly deformed bricks jutting from the third story, an oddity for a building made primarily from wood; the science building, a single story made from brick that housed the equipment for everything a high school Chemistry or Biology class could possibly need; and the two-story art building, which held a number of painting supplies, musical instruments, and various other sundries and supplies that would facilitate the various arts students might take an interest in. The art building was also called the "Clubhouse" by some students, due to the number of rooms that had been appropriated (with a teacher's permission, of course) by the various clubs the students had created.

Ruby wasn't paying much attention to the school's three buildings, however; her eyes had caught onto something that drew her attention much more easily. Four young men, likely seniors at Beacon, had surrounded a short girl with brown hair, and were grinning maliciously as they spoke to her.

Ruby sighed as she walked towards the group, already resigning herself to what she was about to do. 'Not the best way to start the new school year,' Ruby thought to herself, only for her eyes to harden and her pace to quicken when she saw the tallest of the group, a man with short but well-groomed brown hair, shove the girl hard, nearly sending her tumbling to the ground.

"Hey!" Ruby called out as she approached, drawing the attention of the four men. "What's going on here?"

She didn't know what she'd been expecting, but the group of men suddenly bursting out laughing wasn't it. 'They must've made a height joke or something before I got here,' Ruby thought, scowling up at the tallest of them.

"Another little girl?" one of the group asked, his dyed-white hair cut into a spiky Mohawk, grinning widely as he strode out to intercept Ruby. "Why don't you go back to kindergarten, huh?" he asked, raising his hand to shove her in much the same way his friend had shoved the other girl.

Ruby, however, wasn't a normal teenage girl. She'd decided years ago to join the police force, at the very least, and had learned from her mother that she likely wouldn't grow very tall. So, she'd decided to learn how to fight against people larger and stronger than she was.

She showed that off now, tilting herself just barely out of the path of the older boy's shove and grabbing his arm with both hands. She spun on her heel, taking advantage of the senior's overbalancing to throw him to the ground behind her. He landed hard on his side, and let out a groan as the pain from hitting the concrete caught up to him.

Ruby didn't stop walking, however, until she was standing mere feet from the group. "I'll ask again," Ruby growled, glaring up into the tallest's eyes. "What is going on here?"

With a start, she realized she recognized him: Cardin Winchester, one of the people Yang had told her to stay away from if at all possible. Yang had been tight-lipped about the details, but said that she knew he was part of a bad crowd. Letting her eyes wander to his companions, she recognized them as well, Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark, which made the thug she'd sent to the ground Russel Thrush.

"Better question," Cardin began, stepping up close to her and glaring down at her, "who the hell are you?"

Ruby smirked, and asked, "Does it matter?"

Cardin let out a low chuckle, a malicious smile stretching across his lips and not diminishing his glare in the slightest. "Least you know that much," Cardin said, cracking his neck to one side. "So, what makes you think you deserve to know what's going on here, huh?"

"Well, when I see a guy trying to prove he's got no dick, I get all intrigued," Ruby said, feeling her smirk grow as Cardin's eyes widened. "Seriously, that girl's even shorter than me! What, you're not strong enough to pick on someone your own size? Gotta find little girls to play with?"

"Little bitch," Cardin growled, swinging his fist at Ruby. She ducked beneath it and rammed her palm into his stomach, making him flinch but otherwise doing nothing. Ruby shook her hand as she backed a few steps away, trying to get some feeling back into it; she felt like she'd just hit a brick wall.

She knew this part, though. Taunting, making your opponent overestimate you in some ways and underestimate you in others, subtly controlling the flow of a fight; she'd been taught them all by her mother.

So when Cardin started charging her, Ruby let her knees drop and used his momentum to hammer her fist right into his groin. She hopped backwards and onto her feet in a well-practiced maneuver as Cardin collapsed, hands clamped to his likely bruised genitals and pitiable whimpers leaving his throat.

Ruby glanced over at Dove and Sky, giving them a glare that made them step away from the young woman they'd been harassing, and walked over to her. "Come on, let's go," Ruby said, grabbing her arm gently and leading her away. "I'd rather not get in trouble for this, you know?"

The girl blinked rapidly at Ruby as she was dragged away, as if unsure whether to thank her or scream for help. Ruby found her lack of response a bit odd, and glanced over her shoulder at her as the two of them entered the main building, leaving the bullies behind. A few locks of her rich chocolate-brown hair, the bulk of which fell to her lower back in a barely controlled braid, cascaded over her shoulders and framed her heart-shaped face. Her skin was somewhat pale, in a mostly unattractive way, but she filled out her uniform well enough, despite her stature; Ruby decided she must not like going outside all that much.

But it was her eyes that Ruby's own were drawn to. Brown irises so rich and deep that they made her hair look pale, each bearing an odd circle around her pupils: a bright, vivid pink in her left and a creamy white in her right. Ruby was so lost in her staring at them that she didn't even realize that they'd stopped until the girl started tugging at her arm.

"Oh, um, sorry!" Ruby said, sheepishly scratching her cheek as she let go of the girl's arm. "Uh, don't take this as me hitting on you or anything, but you have really beautiful eyes. Really distracting."

The girl blinked at Ruby again, her cheeks flushing pink as what the raven-haired youth said sank in. She looked around them nervously, then bowed her head deeply, as if in thanks, which made Ruby blink at her.

And then the girl made a series of hand gestures that Ruby couldn't even begin to guess the meanings of. "Uh," Ruby said, cocking her head sideways and making the girl pause. "I'm just gonna go out on a limb here, but that was sign language, right?" The girl nodded, agitated that she couldn't communicate. "Um, well, I can't understand that. Oh!" Ruby exclaimed, twisting at the waist to start digging around in one of her skirt's pockets; in her opinion, they were her uniform's best feature. "Aha!" Ruby exclaimed, pulling out a small notepad and a compact pen. Handing it to the girl, she said, "Here. Might be useful, you know?"

The girl rolled her eyes, an action that threatened to hypnotize Ruby again, and accepted them. She wrote very quickly, and turned the notepad sideways as she showed it to Ruby.

 _Thank you for back there._

Turning it back to her, the girl wrote down another brief sentence before showing it to Ruby again.

 _And for this._

Blushing, she wrote another sentence, and looked away as she showed it to Ruby.

 _And for the compliment._

Ruby couldn't help but chuckle, making the girl send her a brief glare before turning the page over and writing something else.

 _Why do you have this, anyway?_

"My dad's a private investigator, and orders a whole bunch of them at a time," Ruby said, leaving out the fact that her mother was a police officer who used them just as often; she didn't really understand why, but most people started treating her differently when they learned that. "He lets me and my sister take them when we want to. I like having one with me, just in case, but it's not really a big deal, so you can keep it, if you want."

The girl nodded her head, but started writing again.

 _Thanks. Again._

"No problem," Ruby said, smiling at her. "By the way, my name's Ruby."

 _Neopolitan, but call me Neo._

"Well, Neo," Ruby said, glancing out the windows set into the front doors and seeing her sister looking around for her, "ah, sorry. That's my sister out there," Ruby said, pointing, "and, well, the rally and all."

Neo rolled her eyes, but nodded her head, already writing on the notepad again.

 _It's fine. Nice meeting you, and thanks again for the help._

"No problem," Ruby said, grinning at the shorter girl and waving as she walked back outside.

"Where'd you go, and why did I see Cardin stumbling away with his hands on his junk?" Yang asked in a deadpan as she jogged over to Ruby.

"Ah, well, you see, there was this girl," Ruby said, scratching her cheek sheepishly. "They were picking on her, so I wound up getting involved."

Yang just stared at Ruby for a long moment, then sighed and shook her head. "Of course you did," Yang said, smiling warmly at her sister. "So, this girl... is she cute?"

Ruby blushed crimson, and stammered, "Y-y-yang!"

"Yang, stop," a black-haired young woman said, sidling up next to Yang. Her amber eyes were narrowed disapprovingly at the blonde, and the two feline ears atop her head twitched with displeasure. "She's still young enough to not know whether or not she's attracted to women. Best not to force the issue."

Ruby, having thought Blake was going to save her from her sister's teasing, blushed even further. "Yeah, yeah," Yang said, rolling her eyes and trying to hide the wide grin she now wore. "You know what year she's in?" Yang asked, changing the topic while still keeping to the same subject; it was something that always infuriated Ruby, which was why Yang made a habit of doing it.

"N-no!" Ruby said, glancing rapidly between her sister and her sister's best friend. "Why would I know that?"

"Fair enough," Blake said, giving an idle shrug.

"Before I forget," Ruby said, eager to get away from the topic, "I've got that book you loaned me, Blake."

"Oh?" Blake asked lazily, though the perking of her ears told how she really felt.

"Yep," Ruby said, shrugging out of her backpack and rooting through the front-most pocket until she'd found it. "Here you go!"

"Thanks," Blake said, trying to ignore the curious glance that Yang was giving them, though she found herself blushing very faintly as she hurried to stow it in her own backpack. "Did you like it?"

"I don't know," Ruby said with a frown. "There was a lot more... indecency than I'd've expected. But the story was okay, and the action scenes were pretty good."

"Indecency?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow as Blake blushed even harder. "Blake, did you trick my sister into reading porn?"

"I didn't trick her," Blake mumbled, looking away from the blonde, her ears pressed flat against her head.

"Hey, girls!" another young woman said, jogging over to the trio. Her long white hair was tied into a ponytail at the side of her head, and her wide smile made little lines appear at the sides of her deep blue eyes. "Guess who's back?"

"Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed, excitedly hugging the white-haired girl. "It's so good to see you again! Did you miss me?"

"How could I ever miss _you_ , twerp?" Weiss asked, winking at Yang as she hugged Ruby back. "Insufferable little ruffian."

Ruby laughed as they released each other, grinning broadly until she noticed the boy standing next to Weiss. His white hair was kept short, and was only barely styled; or, rather, it was heavily styled to look like it stuck up naturally. He was wearing the male uniform of the school, which consisted of the same blazer as the female uniform, a pair of slacks in the same colors, and a white button-down shirt. One of his eyebrows was cocked as he stared at the exchange with his own blue eyes. "Hello," Ruby said, offering a polite smile as she extended her hand to him. "I'm Ruby Rose, and you are...?"

"Whitley Schnee," the boy said, tentatively shaking her hand. "Weiss's brother."

"Whitley, these are Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long," Weiss said, gesturing to each girl in turn. "They might not look like it, but Yang and Ruby are sisters."

"Well, half-sisters," Yang said, folding her arms as she looked Whitley up and down. "But that doesn't mean she means any less to me. Understand?"

"Uh, Yang?" Ruby asked, cocking her head to one side as Yang scowled at the younger Schnee. "What're you doing?"

Weiss sighed, pressing her hand to her temples in an attempt to stem off the headache already forming. "She's doing the big-sister-protective-instinct thing, Ruby. She thinks Whitley might make a move on you. Romantically," Weiss added when Ruby cocked her head further sideways.

"Huh?!"

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"For years, this school has stood proud in our city, so plagued by intolerance and crime," Principal Ozpin was saying, addressing the crowd of students filling the school's auditorium. His hair, which had long since turned white, was untidy in a rather tidy way, lending him a rather approachable image, and his suit matching the green of his eyes only added to said image by making him seem somewhat eccentric. "It is a Beacon, so to speak, of all the good that can come about when children your age are given proper guidance and education.

"In this school, you will find that you are allowed a great many things. You have the freedom to wear clothing other than your uniform, as long as it does not go against the school's dress code. You have the freedom to pursue the extracurricular activities that you wish, including employment, even if your grades begin to slip. During your break periods, such as the lunch hour, you have the freedom to roam and explore, and even leave the campus, if that is your desire, though we would greatly appreciate it if you were back in your seat when it's time for class," Ozpin said, pausing to let a few of the older students let out short, soft laughs.

"Many of you come from different backgrounds," Ozpin continued. "Rich or poor, Faunus or Human, from families of great renown or families with dark histories. All of you now hold something in common: you are students of Beacon, and will always know what it means to be one." Ozpin leaned closer to the microphone, adding, "I hope each and every one of you enjoys your time here.

"Now, I think I've spoken enough for the time being," Ozpin said, smiling warmly down at the assembled students. "The teachers and faculty of Beacon will introduce themselves to you, as well as tell you your homeroom assignments for this year. Pay attention to them. The last thing you want is to not know your room assignment."

With that, Ozpin stepped away from the simple wooden podium and gestured to the first teacher, a portly man white a wide grey mustache and well-groomed hair. As he approached the podium, his bulging gut jiggled beneath his rust-colored jacket, and he never once opened his eyes.

"Hello, students!" the man said, his voice a booming baritone that likely would've carried throughout the auditorium even without the microphone. "I am Professor Port. I teach Biological Science and am the homeroom teacher for Class 1-A. I look forward to spending this year grooming you to be the best you can be!"

Port stepped away from the podium, nodding amicably to the man with spiky green hair that took his place. Spectacles covered his blue eyes, and his attire was at once lazy and professional. "Good morning, students," the new man said, his voice a nonstop rush of syllables that passed by nearly too quickly to catch. "I am Doctor Oobleck, that's Doctor, not Professor, and I teach World History. If you are planning on pursuing a career in education or science I am more than willing to take a bit of time to assist you, even if you aren't in my homeroom."

Oobleck walked away from the podium as well, letting a woman take his place. She was tall, with bright blonde hair and vibrant green eyes, all of which made her seem years younger. "Hello, students," she said, her voice calm and soothing compared to the prior teachers. "I am Professor Glynda Goodwitch. I teach first-year mathematics, and my homeroom class is held in room 1-C. Because my colleague failed to mention it, I must inform you that Doctor Oobleck's homeroom is held in class 1-B," Goodwitch said, directing an annoyed scowl to her colleague before turning her attention back to the students. "I am also one of the teachers you can speak to about starting a club here at Beacon, and have made a list of the clubs already existing; you may find copies of this list on the table next to the bulletin board on the first floor, where first-year students can find their room assignments."

Goodwitch left the podium, nodding at the woman walking up to replace her. It was at this point Ruby started zoning out, as nearly two dozen teachers each introduced themselves, saying what they taught and where their homeroom was. And then there were another dozen faculty members, including three school nurses and the head janitor, who wound up introducing themselves.

By the time the janitor left the podium, Ruby was bouncing on her heels, trying to get as much of her weight off of them as she could. She was relieved when Ozpin walked back up to the podium and started speaking again, believing that the assembly would be over soon.

"I would like to thank all of you for your patience," Ozpin said, letting his gaze roam over the students; his eyes briefly caught on Ruby, and his friendly smile took on an amused tone as he saw what she was doing. "Today, there will be no real lessons; at least, not for you first-years. Today is a day of introductions, after all, and I sincerely doubt all of you know each other. Head to your homerooms; Professors Port and Goodwitch and Doctor Oobleck will be ready to give you your seating assignments when you're there. For now, you are all dismissed."

Ruby let out a sigh of relief as Ozpin walked away from the podium, which made Yang, who'd been standing next to her for the whole assembly, chuckle. "Ugh, my feet hurt," Ruby whined to her sister, needing to raise her voice to be heard over the din of chatting students; it had risen suddenly, practically the moment Ozpin had stopped talking, and was fairly oppressive, as far as Ruby was concerned.

Yang chuckled again, planting a hand on Ruby's head and mussing up her hair. " _You_ don't have to walk up two flights of stairs, Rubes," Yang said, grinning as Ruby tried to push her sister's hand away.

"You two still at it?" Blake asked as she, Weiss, and Whitley sidled up near them. She'd left the two of them after they'd wound up in the middle of the crowd of students; Blake didn't do well in crowds, and Weiss had decided to stick with her to lend her some comfort, if needed. Of course, Whitley had stuck with his sister because he didn't know anyone else and had felt a little nervous at the prospect of striking out on his own. "You know we're in public, right?"

"Since when has that ever stopped me?" Yang asked, grinning at Blake. She didn't notice Weiss's blush, or the hard shake of her head she made to dispel her thoughts.

"Never, I suppose," Blake said with a sigh. "Well, we should probably get going. The bulletin board for us seniors is on the third-floor," Blake added, as much for Ruby's benefit as Yang and Weiss's.

"Damn, that blows," Yang said, shaking her head. "I just hope we're all in the same room this time, Blake."

"That would be preferable," Weiss said, shaking her head. "But it isn't likely to happen; the teachers tend to sort us based on academic performance. On the bright side, though, that means Ruby and Whitley will probably be in the same room, so I won't have to worry as much about my dear little brother being around strangers."

"Hey," Whitley said, trying and failing to put a growl into his voice. "I'm not that bad around new people."

"Yes, you are," Weiss said offhandedly, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry, Whitley; Ruby's the same way."

"Only with people my age," Ruby mumbled, blushing as she scowled at Weiss. "I'm better with people older than me."

"Which means that we're practically her only friends," Yang said, grinning as she mussed up Ruby's hair again, much to the younger girl's displeasure. "And if you do anything to hurt her," Yang suddenly growled, glaring at Whitley hard enough to make him instinctively take a step away from her, "I'll put my foot so far up your ass that your tongue will have grip."

"Yang, calm down," Blake said, putting a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "You made your point earlier, remember?"

Yang did calm down at the reminder, but only barely. She was still glaring at Whitley suspiciously when Weiss started guiding her away, offering a "See you after school," to her brother and Ruby. Blake went with them, leaving Ruby and Whitley alone in a room full of students still milling about.

Whitley glanced over at Ruby, who just shrugged. "Is your sister always like that?" Whitley asked, not bothering to hide the bit of fear that crept into his voice.

"No," Ruby said, shrugging again. "But I've never really spent any time around boys, either. This might just be something she's always had ready, or something."

"Great," Whitley said sarcastically, his shoulders slumping. "I'm _so_ glad I decided to come here."

Ruby giggled, shaking her head. "Come on, we should probably get going before we wind up being late," Ruby said, starting off towards the doorway Yang and the others had gone through, Whitley following just a few steps behind her.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Now that you all have your seating assignments, shall we introduce ourselves?" Professor Goodwitch asked, glancing up from the papers on her desk to look out at the thirty-two students in her classroom. There were seven rows of five desks (three were being held in reserve, just in case there were transfer students), all of which were smaller than her own desk, of course, yet the room somehow managed to not seem crowded. "Let's start with Miss Rose."

Ruby stared at the professor for a moment before she stood up, wondering why her teacher had chosen to start with her. She wasn't in either the front or back row, and she wasn't alphabetically first or last; she'd been assigned a seat in the third-to-last row, right next to the window. "My name is Ruby Rose," Ruby began. "I... don't really know what you want from me, Professor."

"Two things you like, one thing you dislike, something you think we'd find interesting about you, and something you plan on doing within the year," Goodwitch explained, her encouraging smile making Ruby sigh in relief. "I apologize for not explaining this before I put you on the spot like that."

"Okay," Ruby said. "So, I like reading books, mostly science fiction, but I sometimes go for fantasy, too. I also like learning about other cultures, even if they aren't around anymore. I dislike people who abuse others, everyone from bullies to corrupt politicians. As for what I plan on doing this year, well, I hadn't really thought about it," Ruby said, rubbing at the back of her neck sheepishly. "I guess... getting a driver's license. And, well, the most interesting thing about me is probably my having nightmares every night since I was six."

More than a few students seemed taken aback by that comment, as did Professor Goodwitch herself. "Thank you, Miss Rose," she said after a moment, nodding her head as Ruby sat back down. "Next is Mr. Schnee."

Whitley made sure his face was bereft of emotion as he stood up. These were people who he'd have to deal with nearly every day for the next year, and he wanted to make absolutely sure that he didn't make himself a target; his name did that enough on it's own. "My name is Whitley Schnee. I enjoy fixing things, especially cars, and like learning how they work. I plan on restoring the oldest model of automobile I can possibly find this year," Whitley said, feeling a bit of tension ease out of him as a few of the people in front of him stopped scowling at him and started giving him an approving look. "The most interesting thing about me, in my opinion, is my skill with a needle and thread; I'd imagine most people wouldn't expect someone like me to know how to patch up a pair of old pants," Whitley added, letting his head dip a bit as he smiled, only for that to fade away as he neared the last bit of his introduction. "As for what I dislike... I dislike people who dislike me based on what my family has done, as if I was to blame for their more controversial actions."

Whitley snorted out an angry laugh as he sat back down, trying to keep his breathing even without it seeming like he was trying. There was another pause, similar to the one that had followed Ruby's introduction, before Professor Goodwitch sighed.

"Next we have Miss Eiden," Goodwitch said, hoping that there wouldn't be anymore dramatic introductions like Ruby's and Whitley's.

Near a dozen introductions came and went before the professor's hopes proved wrong. As the student who'd just introduced himself sat back down, she looked at her list to see who was next, and her heart sank as she read the name and remembered the special circumstances behind this one.

"Everyone," Goodwitch said as the next student rose nervously, looking around shyly as the class full of students looked between the two of them, "this is Miss Neopolitan Torchwick. As she is mute, she is unable to introduce herself to all of you at once, and may have trouble introducing herself to you at the moment. For the next two weeks, any of you who is interested in learning sign language may visit me in this classroom between four and five p.m. I will help you fill out the necessary paperwork to bring to your parents or guardians to attend a class on sign language at the college."

Ruby couldn't help but stare at Neo, who just happened to be sitting right behind her. Neo couldn't help but catch her staring, and looked down (barely) at her nervously, only for Ruby to smile and nod encouragingly. Neo let out a quiet breath that she didn't know she'd been holding, and mustered the nerve to smile shyly at the rest of the class before sitting down, a light blush covering her cheeks.

It took a lot of willpower for Professor Goodwitch to not chuckle, as she often did when she felt something was cute, but she knew that laughing now would only cause problems for her students. "Now then," she said, just a bit forcefully. It did the trick, drawing the class's attention back to her. "Continuing the introductions, next we have Miss Sporre."

Ruby could barely sit still for the rest of the introductions, and she kept sneaking glances behind her whenever she got the chance. She couldn't believe that she was in the same class as the girl she'd saved from bullies just this morning, nor could she believe that they were sitting so close to each other. So, once Senka Grace introduced herself and Professor Goodwitch declared the rest of the first period a free period to give more personal introductions, Ruby spun around in her seat to talk to Neo.

"So," Ruby said, smiling when she saw Neo's smile. "What're the odds, huh?"

Neo giggled, shyly looking away as she pulled out the notepad Ruby had given her earlier and wrote a single word.

 _Low._

Ruby chuckled at the response, glancing to the side as she saw Whitley walking over. "You two know each other?" Whitley asked, making Neo blink at him, confused, and producing a shrug from Ruby.

"We only met this morning," Ruby explained before turning back to a somewhat confused Neo. "Neo, Whitley here is the little brother of one of my friends. I only met him this morning, too. About a minute after I met you, actually, but Weiss told me a few stories about him."

"I don't even want to know what she said about me," Whitley said, letting out a groan. "You know how an older sister can get, Ruby, right?"

"Yep," Ruby drawled, nodding.

"Well, I've got two of them," Whitley continued, making Ruby wince and give a low whistle. "Yeah. It's like that. No brothers or little sisters, either, so I'm bottom of the totem pole when it comes to this sort of thing."

"Yikes," Ruby said, shaking her head sympathetically.

Neo, desperate to get a word in, tapped her pen against her desk when she was done writing, then showed her notepad to Whitley.

 _Nice to meet you, Whitley._

Whitley let out an embarrassed chuckle, scratching his cheek sheepishly as he said, "Sorry, Neo. I'm not much good with people."

Neo blinked: that hadn't been the response she'd expected. She hurried to scrawl down her next statement before Whitley and Ruby started talking again without her.

 _What brought you to Beacon?_

"Huh?" Whitley asked, making Neo blush and add another line.

 _The Schnee family is from Mantle, right? Why come here for school?_

"Oh, that," Whitley said, feeling his cheeks warm as he shrugged. "Well, my sister, Weiss, came here for some reason, so I'm trying to figure out why. And why she decided to keep coming back here, too."

"I could probably answer that second bit," Ruby said, feeling a wide grin stretch her cheeks. "Weiss has had a bit of a crush on my sister ever since they first met. Latched onto her like a lost puppy, the way Blake tells it."

Whitley covered his face in his hands as Neo giggled softly, hiding his blush from the two girls. "I don't really think I wanted to hear that," Whitley mumbled, only barely loud enough for them to hear. "So," Whitley said, removing his hands from his face and hooking his thumbs in his pockets, "change of topic: you said you like reading, Ruby? Mostly sci-fi?"

"Yep," Ruby said, nodding. "Pretty much anything involving inter-galactic travel, so I'll sometimes go for fantasy if it's got that."

"Really?" Whitley asked, raising an eyebrow. "I prefer seeing the types of futuristic technology the writers dream up. Most are so far out there that it's almost funny."

"That can be fun, but I like it more for the escapism," Ruby said, shrugging. "The last time I was on a plane I wound up sick for a week afterward. Something about travel just doesn't sit well with me, so I like to explore in a way that doesn't leave me bedridden after."

Neo tapped her pen on the desk to get their attention, then hurried to write her statement.

 _I prefer fantasy, mostly, but I like sci-fi too. Mostly the stuff that explores a big city or space station, though; not so much anything dealing with travel._

"Huh. What're the odds we'd all like reading science fiction?" Whitley asked, only to watch as Neo flipped to a previous page in her notepad and showed it to him, sending Ruby into a fit of giggles and lifting the corners of Neo's lips.

 _Low._

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Ruby, come with me."

Ruby looked up from the books she, Neo, and Whitley had spread out on Neo's desk, seeing Professor Goodwitch standing with a stern expression just by the door. The final period of the day had just started, and Goodwitch had been a couple of minutes late, so the three of them had decided to take the opportunity to recommend their favorite series to each other.

"Uh, okay?" Ruby said nervously, fighting the urge to glance around the classroom; she already knew everyone was staring at her, and knew that she'd only freak out more if she saw them staring. Her breath caught in her throat as she followed her professor out into the hall and realized exactly what she'd done to garner this reaction: she'd fought Cardin and his friends before school had even started.

"Wha-what'd I do?" Ruby asked when she saw Professor Goodwitch close the door behind them, leaving them standing alone in the hallway.

"Fighting is strictly prohibited on the grounds, Miss Rose."

Well, not quite alone.

Ruby whirled, her eyes growing wide with panic when she saw Principal Ozpin standing half-hidden behind a wooden outcropping, a steaming mug held in his right hand and an intricately carved willow cane in his left. "I must say, though, that I find it extremely odd that someone with your upbringing would actively seek out four older boys to fight with," Ozpin continued, stepping out from behind his partial cover. "In fact, I don't believe that's what happened at all, Miss Rose. Would you care to tell us what actually happened this morning?"

Ruby froze, hesitating under the stern, but not quite harsh, look Ozpin was giving her. After a moment, she said, "Okay."

And then she told them everything.

Come on, she's planning on becoming a cop; what type of cop would she be if she didn't respect authority?

"Now that, I can believe," Ozpin said, nodding his head as Ruby finished her story. "Cardin and his friends have been reported for this sort of thing before, but usually there's been a few more bruises than that on both sides."

"I'll have their teachers give them detention," Goodwitch said, addressing Ozpin more than Ruby. "However, there's still the matter of your punishment, Ruby," she added, turning to face Ruby fully and causing her to freeze again. "As Ozpin said, fighting is against the rules of Beacon."

"It might be your first day here, but this is still something we'd like to avoid," Ozpin added, his voice soothing the obviously distressed girl. "Even in this situation, we'd still rather set a precedent against this sort of thing."

"But... but..." Ruby stammered, eyes wide as she glanced between her teacher and the principal. "But there are laws specifically granting protection to people acting in self-defense!" Ruby finally exclaimed, latching onto the first thing she could that could get her out of trouble.

"Yes. In _self_ -defense," Goodwitch said. "When someone else is being harassed, you find someone who is supposed to help with the problem. In this case, you should have gone to a teacher and asked for help, not jumped in yourself and injure two of our students."

The door to class 1-C practically flew open, revealing Neo standing as tall as she could as she met her eyes to Goodwitch's and Ozpin's. She started moving her arms and hands frantically; it took Ruby a moment to realize that she was using sign language, and another to realize that the professor and principal could both evidently understand her.

"I see," Ozpin said after a few moments, a small smile settling onto his features. "Well, then, Miss Rose, it seems you won't be getting punished after all."

"What?" Ruby asked, blinking rapidly as she looked between the three people standing in front of her. "Why?"

"It looks like they'll be needing multiple detentions, then," Goodwitch said with an angry sigh, giving Ozpin a brief scowl before walking back towards the door. "You two should return to your seats," she added, pausing at the door to look at Ruby and Neo.

"What just happened?" Ruby asked, again looking between the three of them as Goodwitch and Neo returned to the classroom and Ozpin wandered off with a chuckle.

Neo looked at Ruby over her shoulder and just gave her a smile, happy to have helped.

"No, seriously, you're going to tell me what happened, right?" Ruby asked, following the two women back into the classroom. She froze again when she noticed everyone's eyes on her, then steeled her nerves and returned to her seat silently, trying to ignore the stares.

Whitley was still standing by their desks, glancing between the two girls with a perplexed expression, only to return to his own seat when the professor called for the class to do just that. He couldn't help but look over at them again as he sat down, though, wondering exactly what had happened.

"Now then," Goodwitch said, pulling a stack of folders out from one of the drawers of her desk. "Since this is your first day here, there are a few things I should go over before you all go home for the day. Where you're allowed, how your schedules will work, the dress code: everything."

"Uh, Professor?" a student said, raising her hand; it took Ruby an effort to remember her name, but she managed to recall that it was Isabella Siverand. "Is going over the dress code important when we have a uniform?" Isabella asked, idly twirling a lock of her platinum blonde hair around a finger.

"The uniform is simply the easiest way to adhere to the dress code, Miss Siverand," Goodwitch said, sitting at her desk and opening one of the folders. As she flipped through a few of the pages within the folder, she added, "I'm sure most of you have seen how many of your upperclassmen have made modifications to their uniforms or have chosen to wear something else entirely. We are actually rather lax with our dress codes here, as long as you maintain a certain basic decency."

"Then why do we have uniforms?" Isabella asked, blinking her bright blue eyes owlishly.

"So that we can revoke your right to choose your own outfit if you violate the dress code on a regular basis," Goodwitch said. "If you do not uphold a basic level of decency, or go against the dress code in some other way, the faculty can restrict you to only wearing your uniform while on school grounds. It is not a punishment we have had to hand out often, nor do I expect to need to level it against anyone in here, but there are a few people currently attending Beacon who are confined to uniform."

What followed was an extremely dry statement of every last rule at Beacon High, including things like "skirts must be no shorter than ten inches long unless you are wearing it over pants or shorts that are acceptable, unless they are between six and ten inches long, in which case they may also be worn over tight leggings, which are only acceptable when worn with skirts longer than six inches or loose-fitting shorts with a belt" and "piercings must be no longer than one inch if worn from the ear, and no longer than half an inch if worn anywhere else." It was incredibly dry, and consisted solely of Professor Goodwitch reading from the folders she wound up passing out to her students anyway, meaning that she really didn't need to say all of it to her class.

After an hour of that, the bell rang, a deep chime that cut Goodwitch off mid-sentence. She wound up finishing that sentence anyway, then dismissed the class; the moment she did, Ruby turned around in her seat to face Neo, who immediately adopted an innocent expression at the inquisitive look Ruby was giving her.

"Are you gonna tell me what you told them to get me out of trouble?" Ruby asked, making Neo wince. After a moment, the mute girl nodded her head and pulled out the notepad Ruby had given her.

 _What happened before you came by._

Ruby raised an eyebrow at that, and Neo only shook her head, unwilling to write any more about it. After a long, tense moment between them, Ruby sighed and, her face hard with determination, stood up. Neo blinked, confused and worried, as Ruby walked over to Goodwitch's desk.

"Yes, Miss Rose?" Goodwitch asked, folding her hands in front of her as Ruby approached.

"I'd like to sign up for the sign language course," Ruby said, making the professor smile and Neo sigh in relief.

"Of course you do," Goodwitch murmured softly, masking her smile by looking down to one of the drawers of her desk. "I'll warn you: by its very nature, it is a college-level course, and you will still need to maintain a good GPA here to continue taking it. It is not an excuse to let your normal school-work slip by."

"I know," Ruby said. "I'd still like to take it."

"Very well, then," Goodwitch said, pulling out a small stack of papers and handing one to Ruby. "You'll need a signature from one of your parents. If you have any questions about anything you need to fill out, you can ask them or stay after school tomorrow so I can help you."

"Well," Whitley said from next to Ruby, startling her, "I plan on taking it too, if possible, but my dad's in Mantle."

"In that case, do you have anyone who might qualify as your legal guardian?" Goodwitch asked, making Whitley shrug.

"Maybe?" he said, his voice turning it into a question. "My sister Winter might, since she's an adult and Weiss and I are staying with her while we're here, but... maybe?"

"I would recommend asking her," Goodwitch said, handing him one of the papers anyway. "Since your father is in Mantle, I'd imagine your sister would know whether or not she's your legal guardian while you're here."

"I want to take it too!" came a very bubbly voice from Ruby's other side, startling her again; if she wasn't too busy trying to remember the name of the girl with shiny black hair (with three horizontal silver accents) and bright amber eyes, she would've made a mental note to become more aware of her surroundings.

"Alright, Miss Veon," Goodwitch said as she handed the girl a paper, getting Ruby to remember the girl's name: Lilith Veon.

"U-um," a male voice came from Ruby's other side, making her realize that she was still standing in front of the teacher's desk despite not having a reason to anymore. As she left, she caught sight of the boy asking for a paper, who she managed to remember was named Solon Uziel; his eyes and hair were the same shade of grey, and he had a rather thick beard for a fifteen-year-old.

In the end, Ruby watched from her seat as everyone in her class asked to take the sign language course; after a few moments, she glanced over her shoulder to see Neo staring at everyone, her mouth open and a vibrant blush on her cheeks.

Ruby couldn't help but smile at the mute girl's reaction, which Neo happened to see; it only made her blush harder, and Ruby's smile turn into a full-blown grin.

"Looks like everyone wants to be able to understand you, huh?" Ruby asked softly, nodding at Whitley as he walked back over to them, his backpack slung over one shoulder. Neo's cheeks turned even redder, and she turned to look out the window, hoping that she wouldn't get any more embarrassed.

"So," Whitley said, shifting on his feet awkwardly, "sorry to just run like this, but I just got a text from Weiss. Apparently Winter wants the both of us home before she leaves for work, so we've gotta get going before the next bus leaves."

"That's fine," Ruby said, waving one hand dismissively. "I'm in a similar boat with my dad. Say," Ruby said suddenly, nearly managing to cut _herself_ off as a gleeful glimmer appeared behind her silver eyes, "how about we all hang out this weekend?" she asked, gesturing between herself, Whitley, and Neo, who blinked at her, surprised to be included. "We could go shopping for books, or go to an arcade, or see a movie or something."

"Sounds good to me," Whitley said, letting a relieved smile cross his lips. "You cool with that, Neo?" he asked, making the effort to include her even more obvious.

Neo's mouth dropped open again, and she nodded her head fiercely, half because she desperately wanted to and half to hide the tears that were starting to brim in her eyes.

Whitley's phone chirped in his pocket, and he sighed, adjusting his backpack. "That'll be Weiss asking where I am," Whitley said, turning to leave. "Sorry, but I've gotta go."

"See you tomorrow," Ruby said, waving along with Neo as Whitley left the room. Ruby's phone went off a moment later, and she pulled it out from one of her skirt's pockets. "Oh, it's from Yang," Ruby mumbled, swiping her thumb across the screen to open the message.

 _Blake + I are off 2 work, CU at home l8r_

Ruby rolled her eyes at the message, then sent back a brief response. "Well, my bus doesn't get here for another twenty minutes," Ruby said, lounging back in her seat as Neo raised an eyebrow at her. "Want to look around the grounds with me, or do you need to leave soon?"

Neo smiled and wrote a single word down, then showed it to Ruby as she picked up her backpack.

 _Yes_

"Wait, yes to which question?" Ruby asked as Neo started walking away, making the mute girl laugh. "Neo?"

Neo paused at the doorway, then gave an exaggerated motion of her arm, telling Ruby to come with her. Ruby hurried to comply, grabbing her backpack and shrugging into it. She didn't even notice the dozen students still in the classroom who'd watched the whole exchange, nor the fact that many of them starting laughing the moment she left.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Yo, boss!" Yang yelled out as she swung open the broad wooden door of the warehouse. It was a small thing, but its owner put it to good use; pallets piled high with cardboard boxes and plastic tubs formed a maze-like path from the door to the office areas, which were just small plywood rooms that had been added in after the fact. Blake followed Yang in, making sure to close the door behind them. "You in here?"

"Of course I am, Yang," the man's voice said as he opened the door to one of the offices. "I wouldn't have asked you to meet me here if I wasn't going to be here."

"So, you got work for us?" Yang asked, making Blake sigh.

"Why would... no, you know what? I'm not finishing that question," the man finished in a mumble, turning to beckon them into his small office space, the tails of his white coat flaring behind him with the motion. He sat down on the desk in the room, taking off his bowler hat to run a gloved hand through his mess of bright orange hair, and looked at the two young women with his bright green eyes. "So," Roman Torchwick said, "there's three deliveries for you to make today, Yang. Two duffel bags and a box."

"Got it," Yang said, nodding her head. "Those right there?" she asked, gesturing to the two duffel bags and the thin cardboard box sitting next to the door.

"Yep," Torchwick said. "Addresses are on them. Get them there before six, if possible."

"You got it, boss," Yang said, already stooping to pick up one of the duffel bags. "I'll be back in a flash for the others."

"I know," Torchwick said, inclining his head to her as she left. "Now then, Blake," he said as Yang left, "I expect you want to take your usual hour before you get to work?"

"Yes, sir," Blake said, letting the corners of her mouth twitch up in a small smile.

"Very well, then. Now, get moving; there's a lot to do today," Torchwick said, dismissing her with a wave of his hand.

Blake nodded at him as she left the room, only to pause just inside the building until she'd heard the roar of Yang's motorcycle fade into the distance. After it did, she left the building entirely, her pace quick and hurried.

"You spoil them, you know?" asked an undeniably feminine voice from behind Torchwick. He didn't acknowledge the speaker as she stepped out from behind the plywood wall she'd been hiding behind, revealing dark brown hair and chocolate-colored eyes. "They could be much more useful than this."

"I know, I know," Torchwick said, rolling his eyes. "We've had this conversation before, remember? You don't tell me how to run my business, and I don't tell you how to do your job."

"That was before you started wasting an opportunity like this," the woman said, scowling at Torchwick. "The step-daughter of a police detective could be a valuable asset to you, but you just have her running courier assignments."

"Only until she turns eighteen," Torchwick corrected. "Then I'll set her up as Junior's apprentice. She'll need to pose as one of his waitresses at first, of course, but it'll be worth it. The long game is much more useful to me than you realize. Of course, with someone your age, it makes sense why you'd be focused on short-term goals."

"What is that supposed to mean?" the woman asked, her scowl morphing into a glare.

"It means that you are still young, Miss Scarlatina, and the youthful don't always know how to plan for the long-term," Torchwick said, gently batting his hand at one of the rabbit ears growing from the young woman's head as he turned to face her. "Now, I assume you're here for a reason _other_ than chastising my method for grooming employees into higher positions."

"Yes," Velvet Scarlatina hissed out, her glare turning playful as she grabbed the ear he'd hit and gingerly massaged it. She didn't typically like anyone else touching them, but she made an exception for him; they were quite sensitive, in a way that she wasn't always happy about. "You were right: there's someone trying to take over your territory."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Good, you're home," Winter Schnee said the moment Weiss and Whitley walked in the door; the eldest of the Schnee siblings looked much like the younger two, with her white hair and blue eyes, through she was a fair bit taller than them. Their home in Vale was far from the vast mansion they'd known in Atlas; Winter was renting a comparatively small three-bedroom apartment with only two bathrooms, which neither Weiss nor Whitley was happy about, as they were forced to share. "How was school?"

"It was fine," Weiss said with a shrug. "I still don't get why the teachers call themselves professors over here, though."

"I thought that was strange," Whitley said, sliding off his backpack and all but collapsing onto the broad couch set up in the living room. "But everyone else seemed to accept it. Is that really normal here?"

"I wouldn't know," Winter said, glancing pointedly at Weiss. "I didn't go to high school here."

For her part, Weiss just waved her hand dismissively, sitting on the opposite end of the couch from her brother.

"So, since we're all here, should we have an early dinner?" Winter asked, drawing a curious glance from Whitley. "I don't need to be at work until six, and I'd rather eat beforehand."

Whitley shuddered, but nodded his head. "Sure," he said. "Though I still don't understand how you can do your job with a full stomach."

Winter rolled her eyes, then walked the short distance to the kitchen, though technically it was still the same room. "You get used to them after a while, Whitley. If you see one half-dissolved dead body dismembered by a serial killer, you stop caring about all the heart attacks and broken necks. Now then," she said, dramatically changing the subject as she rooted through a cabinet, not noticing how green her siblings had turned, "who wants spaghetti?"

Weiss shuddered, and shared a glance with Whitley. Neither of them was very hungry after that comment, but they knew they'd have to eat at some point. "Okay," Weiss said, swallowing down the bile building up in her throat.

"Oh!" Whitley said, unzipping his backpack and rooting around in it. "I just remembered something."

"Hm?" Winter asked, glancing over at him as she set a pot of water on the stove.

"Quick question: you count as my legal guardian while I'm here, right?" Whitley asked, making Weiss raise an eyebrow.

"Did you get in trouble already?" Weiss asked, a mixture of amusement and disbelief in her tone.

"What? Of course not!" Whitley exclaimed, scowling at her. "My class's homeroom teacher is letting us take a class at the college if we want to, but we need a signature from a parent or guardian to do it."

"Really?" Weiss asked. "Goodwitch didn't let my class take any college classes when I was in her homeroom. Why?"

"One of my classmates is mute, and it's a class on sign language," Whitley explained.

"To answer your earlier question, Whitley, I have filled out paperwork that lets me act as your legal guardian while we're in Vale," Winter said, drawing her siblings' attention back to her. "However, I'm not entirely convinced this will be a useful way for you to spend your time, and I doubt our father would see it that way either."

Whitley bit back a retort, knowing that insulting their father wasn't likely to get Winter on his side. "Taking a college course at my age would look good on a college application," Whitley began, trying to work out a few more arguments in a hurry. "Especially a language. And doing it to better communicate with a single classmate makes our family look good, too. I doubt our father would dismiss any good press at the moment, Winter."

Winter narrowed her eyes at her brother for a long, tense moment. Finally, she nodded her head. "Very well. I will give you my signature. After we eat."

Whitley let out a quiet sigh of relief as Winter turned back to her pot of water, only for Weiss to catch his attention. "So, this classmate of yours..." Weiss began, a twinkle in her eye. "Mind giving us some details?"

"She's short," Whitley said, making Weiss snort off a laugh. "Like, not even five feet tall. And her eyes are brown, but she's got rings of pink and, like, cream around her pupils. That's central heterochromia, right?"

"Yes," Weiss said, nodding her head. "Though I haven't heard about anyone having two different colors of central like that. You sure both her eyes are brown?"

"Yeah," Whitley said. "Like well-made chocolate."

"Ooh, sounds like you've got a crush, little brother," Weiss teased, poking him in the shoulder.

"You know I don't," Whitley said, irritated. "Besides, she acts like she's more into Ruby than me."

"Oh, yeah, she's in your class too, isn't she?" Weiss asked. "Are you two playing nice?"

"I'm not a little kid, Weiss," Whitley grumbled, rolling his eyes. "And you're not that much older than me."

"I know, but Ruby has a bit of trouble talking to people her own age," Weiss said, startling Whitley; he thought she'd been mocking him, not asking after one of her friends. "I know you're mature for your age, which is why I'm asking if you two are friendly or not."

"Well, Ruby, Neo, and I are planning on hanging out this weekend," Whitley said, scratching his cheek to hide the light flush in his cheeks.

"Neo?"

"The mute girl. Ruby's probably making an effort to get to know her, but we all wound up having some similar interests, so it'll be fine."

"So, what are the three of you are planning on doing?"

"That's still up in the air. Ruby suggested we go to an arcade or a bookstore, I think, but we're probably not going to do much planning for it," Whitley said, shrugging. "Besides, I don't think we could spend a whole day at either of those places."

"Huh," Weiss said, sitting up straighter. "Yang suggested something similar for us and Blake. Maybe all six of us could hang out together..." Weiss trailed off, eyeing her brother. "Or maybe I could dump Blake on you and Ruby so I could go off alone with Yang..."

"Why not just ask her out already, sis?" Whitley asked, rolling his eyes as Weiss blushed. "She might say yes, she might say no, but at least then you'll have an answer."

"M-maybe when we're in college," Weiss mumbled, ducking her head so she didn't have to meet her brother's eyes. "That way, Father won't be able to drag me away from her."

Whitley chuckled softly as he glanced over at Winter, making sure she hadn't heard them. He knew their father would never approve, and that she'd tell him just about everything that went on in the apartment she rented.

'Living with the enemy,' Whitley thought to himself. 'Wonderful.'

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Darkness. It was all he'd known the past five years. His eyes were beyond repair, his doctors had said, all but pulverized by the very edge of that grenade's blast radius. He'd received a Purple Heart for his pain, but that hadn't paid the bills. It hadn't kept his wife from leaving him, or his home from being taken from him.

Now, all he owned were the clothes on his back, the blanket beneath his legs, and the guitar in his hands. Sometimes he owned a cup or a hat that people would drop change in, but those often wound up stolen without him noticing.

"Hi, Adam."

The voice was one of the few constants in his life, and he felt a smile stretch his dirty cheeks as he turned his head in her direction, reminded of the two other things he could call his: the black ribbon wrapped around his head that covered his eyes; and the care of a young woman, who had gone to great lengths to help him.

"Hello, Blake," he said, strumming his guitar to a different tune, one more upbeat than the somber melody he'd been playing before. Her visits always managed to cheer him up, a fact that he let his music reflect whenever possible.

Her footsteps, soft though they were, were how he followed her position, until she knelt by his side and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I got you something," she said, placing a paper bag and a plastic bottle against his leg. "It's not much, but-"

"It's more than anyone else ever gives me, Blake," Adam said, interrupting her as he smiled at her. "Thank you."

He couldn't see her, but he imagined she blushed in the silence that followed. "Would you like me to read to you, today? Or would you prefer I sing?"

"Whichever you'd like, Blake," he said. He truly meant it; he loved hearing her voice, no matter whether she was reading, singing, or just talking to him. It was one of the few things left in his life that he actually enjoyed, and he wasn't going to do anything that could drive her away.

After a moment, he heard the sound of a zipper being opened, and a few moments after that he heard paper rustling. 'She's decided to read,' he thought to himself as he continued to play his guitar, more than willing to provide a musical accompaniment. Her singing typically made people more willing to donate money, of course, but he was fond of the stories she told, and could often lose himself in them for a while.

She stayed away from stories about battle, likely to keep him from remembering the events that had lead to his disability and homelessness, but he didn't mind. Fighting wasn't something he relished; it was just what he was best at.

And every night, his nightmares took him to war. Sword in one hand, gun in the other, men and beasts alike fell before him. He knew he wasn't the hero of his dreams, however; he often woke up sick from the things he saw and did in them. The worst part was that his dream self seemed to think that he was the hero, that he could do no wrong, even as he abused the people he loved and mercilessly slaughtered and maimed everyone in his way, no matter how important they were to him or his loved ones.

Adam's only solace was that he'd never truly see the blonde girl with violet eyes.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"So, yeah, school was pretty boring," Ruby said, swinging her legs as she watched her father start preparing dinner from her seat at the dining table. He'd only gotten home a few minutes ago, freshly bought groceries in hand, and had immediately gone into the kitchen to start cooking; Ruby had helped him carry in the groceries, like she always did, and had wound up finding the strawberries he'd tried to hide from her. At his insistence, she'd refrained from eating more than eight of them, though she'd made sure to pick the largest ones. "I met some cool people, though. Especially everyone in my class. Literally the entire class decided to get the permission slip for a college-level sign language class because we have one mute girl in our class."

"Everyone, huh?" Taiyang asked, glancing back at Ruby with a smile. "That include you?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, nodding her head. After a moment, her eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Oh yeah! Could you sign it for me, Dad?"

Taiyang couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Sure thing, Ruby. Just give me a minute, okay?"

The sound of a key in the front door's lock distracted Ruby, who turned her attention away from her father. After a moment, it opened, revealing Yang walking into their home. "Hey, Dad, Ruby," Yang said, tucking her keys back into one of her pockets.

"Yang," Taiyang greeted her, glancing over at her as he methodically chopped up a pepper. "How was work?"

"Eh, it was alright. Only half a dozen deliveries, all over town," Yang said, sitting down in the chair next to Ruby and letting her backpack hit the floor with a thud. "It's still fall, though, so we're not likely to pick up more business for a while. So, Ruby," Yang said, turning to her sister, "how was your first day at Beacon?"

"It was alright," Ruby said, shrugging her shoulders. "Not really all that different from Signal, really. The class size is bigger and the people are different, but that's about it."

"Yeah, that'll happen when you go from private school to public," Yang said. "Speaking of different people, though, I got an interesting text from Weiss a little while ago. It doesn't really seem like something you'd do, so I've gotta ask: you're planning on hanging out with Whitley and a girl from your class this weekend?"

"Yes," Ruby said, rolling her eyes. "I do have friends my own age, Yang."

"You really don't," Yang pointed out, making Ruby blush and scowl. "You spend most of your free time with me and Blake, and Weiss when she's around. And there's all of the times you had Nikos tutor you in history, and decided to tag along with her and her friends when you couldn't be with mine..."

"That's probably gonna change soon, Yang," Taiyang said, butting into their conversation as he washed his hands. "Apparently, her whole class is going to be taking a sign language course at the college because one of her classmates is mute. That's some good bonding right there."

"What, really?" Yang asked, surprised. "You're taking a college class already, Rubes? Damn, Mom's gonna give me some shit after hearing that."

"Yang, language," Taiyang said as he sat down at the table, making Yang grin and rub the back of her neck sheepishly. "So, Ruby, you said that I'd need to sign something?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, digging the form out of her backpack, which she'd rested next to her chair. "I haven't read it yet."

"You were watching the news again?" Yang asked as Ruby handed the paper to their father.

"Yeah. Mom should be home on time tonight," Ruby said. "It didn't really seem like there was anything the police would be interested in."

"You know she calls me if she's going to be late, right?" Taiyang asked, giving Ruby an amused glance before he returned to reading the form. "And we'd call at least one of you if we're both going to be late."

"Yeah, but I like to know earlier than that," Ruby said, sending a pouting glare at him. "The last time you were late, you called five minutes _after_ the time you'd said you'd be home by. And Mom can't always get to a phone if she's working late."

"Ah, the lives we investigators live!" Taiyang exclaimed dramatically, winking at his youngest daughter. "Look forward to it, Ruby."

"Are you gonna sign that or not?" Ruby asked, annoyed.

"Well, if you ask like that, maybe I won't," Taiyang said with a grin, pulling a pen out from his pocket and scratching his signature onto the form a moment later. "You're all set, Ruby. Just hand that in and you'll have even _more_ work once the college's fall semester starts up."

"Thanks, Dad!" Ruby chirped happily, folding the paper in half and stuffing it back into her backpack as her father went back to working on dinner.

"So, what'cha cooking, Dad?" Yang asked, watching as he put a carrot onto the same cutting board he'd chopped a pepper on earlier.

"Does it look like I'm cooking?" he asked sarcastically, glancing over his shoulder to wink at Yang. "Tonight, we'll be having a variety of skewers, Yang. I'll be firing up the grill once I'm a bit further into the prep work, so if you're hungry you should pull up a cutting board and help out."

"You're not gonna grill those strawberries, are you?" Ruby asked fearfully, the horror in her eyes making Yang chuckle.

"No, those are going on the cake," Taiyang said, making Ruby sit up straighter. "I'm just glad I managed to surprise you with something this time, Ruby."

"Why'd you buy a cake?" Yang asked, chuckling again as she watched Ruby swallow lustfully at the thought of cake topped with strawberries.

"To celebrate, of course! Ruby's first day of high school and the first day of your last year of high school! Oh, my cute little girls are growing up!"

"Dad, are you crying?" Ruby asked, trying not to giggle at her father's antics.

"No! It's just the onion!"

"That's a carrot."

"Then why am I crying?!"

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Dinner had wound up being somewhat uneventful. Despite how excited Taiyang was about it, neither Yang nor Ruby had any real stories to tell about their first day of the new school year; granted, he should've expected it, since a single school day is rarely worth telling a story over, but he still wound up disappointed. Even if Ruby'd had a good story to tell, though, she and her mother were too busy eating their fill of the various meats and vegetables that Taiyang had wound up cramming onto a set of cheap wooden skewers to do much talking. While Yang and Taiyang needed to save room for dessert, neither of the Roses did; they considered their hyperactive metabolisms a curse, most days, but the rare occasion that Taiyang brought a cake home was enough to make them call it a blessing. For a few minutes.

So, after both of the blondes had taken their leave from the dinner table, Ruby and Summer had loaded up their plates with a second helping of strawberries, ice cream, and store-bought chocolate cake before they started slowing down enough to talk.

"Are you still planning on coming with me to the dojo on Wednesday, Ruby?" Summer asked as she sat back down.

"I don't know," Ruby said after a moment, waiting until she'd swallowed her food before she spoke. "Krav Maga sounds kind of... simple, the way you described it."

Summer rolled her eyes. "It's not all just punching people between the legs, you know," Summer said, making Ruby giggle. "There's a lot more to it that suits people in law enforcement. Awareness of the environment and threats, how to take down an opponent as quickly as possible, the best ways to counterattack."

"Yeah, but, don't I already know most of that stuff?" Ruby asked. "And don't I know plenty of martial arts at this points? I'm at second kyu in Small Circle Jujitsu, have a third-tier ranking in Capoeira, and learned a lot of the Chum Kiu in Wing Tsun. Adding any more to that seems kind of... overkill."

"Exactly what Krav Maga emphasizes: finishing the fight as quickly as possible," Summer said, nodding her head forcefully. "At least take a few of the classes with me? Pretty please?" Summer asked, winking at Ruby as she bit back a giggle. "You'll be able to decide for yourself whether you want to continue, but I at least want to show it to you so you can make an informed decision."

"Alright, Mom," Ruby said with a smile. "I'll go with you on Wednesday. But no promises on anything more than that."

"Thank you, Ruby," Summer said, beaming at her daughter. "So," she continued, her smile turning just a bit playful, "Taiya said you were going to take a college course soon, didn't he?"

"Y-yeah," Ruby said. "A sign language class. One of my classmates is mute, so our teacher is letting us take it as long as our grades don't drop."

"Are you the only one taking it?"

"No, actually. Everyone in my class asked for the permission slip," Ruby said, shifting in her seat; she didn't really know whether she should feel happy, proud, or anxious about it. "I don't know whether or not they'll all go through with it, though, or if they'll be able to get a signature."

Summer chuckled, shaking her head. "You shouldn't focus too much on the negative, Ruby," Summer said, resisting the urge to reach over and ruffle her daughter's hair; she still had grease on her fingers from one of the meatier skewers Taiyang had prepared. "I'm sure at least most of them will do it."

"'At least most'?" Ruby repeated, giggling as her mother rolled her eyes.

"Laugh it up while you can, Ruby," Summer said teasingly, pitching her voice lower. "Soon, you too shall succumb to my speech." Ruby just kept on giggling.

The two finished their dessert in contented silence, happy to spend time together.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Ruby lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. It was late. Too late; she was planning on getting up in six hours to get ready for school. But, still, she tried to stay awake.

It was better than the nightmares.

So, she stared up at the dreamcatchers she collected. The most recent one, a marvel of spun willow bark webbed with silk strands bearing obsidian beads, hung closest to her, dangling down from her ceiling by a cheap strand of string that she'd nailed into the ceiling herself. She stared at it intently, hoping that, this night, it would work, that _any_ of them would work. To catch nightmares and keep them away, while letting good dreams pass through unhindered.

After a few minutes, Ruby rolled over onto her side, shutting her eyes tight and trying to keep those hopes in mind as she let herself drift into sleep.

 _The scythe was a familiar weight in her hands. Gleaming metal, the scent of fresh blood, the moon hanging half-destroyed in the night sky; familiar sights, if uncomfortable for her conscious mind. Fortunately for her, it wasn't her conscious mind that was in control._

 _It was the dream._

 _Silver eyes narrowed as they took in the surroundings: crushed buildings, smoke still rising from several of them; flashes of light flaring in the distance, signaling where her allies fought and bled; and the beasts. Heavy, muscular, and enveloped in black fur, they towered above her, their canine muzzles matted with blood both fresh and old._

 _She knew this part well._

 _Her blade was moving almost before she realized it, the blade scoring clean across the chest of the nearest beast. It howled in agony as the metal flashed through it, and its companions charged at her. She jumped, feeling her hair whip about her face as she easily cleared the charging wolf-creatures' heads, and swung her scythe down as she fell back to the earth, bisecting the injured beast's head and smacking it with the top of her scythe's snaith. It slammed into the ground hard, and dissolved into nothingness._

 _"One down," her dream self said, turning to face the remaining beasts. "Two to go."_

 _She swung again, cleaving off the arm of the closest of the beasts. Another pair of swings and its head had joined it, in two pieces. One last swing buried her scythe's blade in the final beast's chest, drawing a howl of agony before it, too, dissolved._

 _The scent of blood curled around her like a cloak as she looked around, trying to find another target. She strode confidently towards it, ignoring the puddles of blood she walked through._

 _She swung her blade without thinking, and blood filled the air._

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Like I said at the top, you shouldn't expect canon depictions of characters to make much impact on how I'll be depicting them here. Adam, for instance: there's probably a lot of you half-hoping he turns against Blake in this story and gets put down for it. Hard. Maybe it'll happen, maybe it won't. I'm gonna be honest, I really fucking hate Adam. I hope Yang rips his head off with her new arm, or at least pulls his head back so Blake can decapitate him. But I won't let that effect how I'll be writing this story.

Anyway, onto other things.

If you care to know, I have decided to rewrite most of my other story, Fallout: Remnant. I really don't like how my writing looked back when I started it, so I'll be reworking it, especially those four prologues. Ugh.

For the time being, I'll be working on this story while working on those rewrites; I'll post the rewrites in lumps of two or three at a time, but don't expect them to come quickly. To better facilitate this, I'll be working on these stories in parts leading up to time skips. Any time it looks like I'm going to skip ahead a few months in one story, it means that I'll be going back to the other story for a while. Right now, Fallout: Remnant is looking forward to a six month time skip, and writing this is giving me a good chance to quietly expand at the back of my mind so that I can have a bunch of stuff ready for it when it's time to go.

And, before you ask, I do know where I'm going with this. The dreams have a purpose in this crime drama, but I won't be telling you quite yet. Of course, if you came here from the Rooster Teeth website's forums, you already know where I'm going with this. If not, it's your choice whether you want to find out or not; for now, all I'll say is that I'm planning that reveal for chapter 4.

Until next time! For now, go do something cool. Get it? 'Cause I'm The Snow Mage? Eh? Eh? No? Well fuck me then.


	2. Chapter 2

So, we're skipping ahead a about week in this chapter. No real reason to, other than the school stuff being rather boring at the moment. Once it gets to the point that there's actually something worth writing about in those classes, I'll start covering them; for now, though, I'll be largely focusing on everything happening after school and on weekends.

Highlights of the week I didn't write about: Ruby went to Krav Maga with Summer and wound up enjoying it. Nope, that's it.

And yes, I know it's been a while. Don't worry about it; updates will likely be a bit more frequent in the coming months. I just hit a creative dead zone there for a while where I couldn't focus on what I was actually supposed to be writing for this story (i.e.: this chapter) and kept thinking about the stuff I had planned for later on. Plus, I managed to get stuck on that damnable diner scene for several months, so I think I'm going to be avoiding having people eat when I can in this story.

Well, whatever! On to the story!

 **XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

"Morning, sunshine!" Taiyang exclaimed as he heard light footsteps tapping down the stairs behind him; his outfit was much the same as it had been nearly a week prior, a simple apron worn over a simple shirt and simple jeans. He was preparing breakfast, as he often enjoyed doing, if only because it let him get his mind off of his work and how it made him keep secrets from his family.

"Morning," Ruby said, sliding down into a chair. She was dressed in a fairly basic black ensemble, a combo of T-shirt and jeans, with a dark red hoodie that fell past mid-thigh and a pair of black boots with red laces and crudely stitched-on red accents.

"So," Taiyang drawled, loading up a plate with a pair of breakfast biscuits, as he called them; they were, as the name says, biscuits, only they'd been cut in half, given a thin coating of butter, and stuffed full of bacon, scrambled eggs, breakfast sausages, and hash browns. "Today's the big day, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Ruby asked, frowning at her father.

"You know," Taiyang said, gesturing with his hand as he added a sliced apple and a chocolate muffin about the same size as the apple. "Today's the day you spend time with people your own age, right?" Ruby just sighed quietly, putting her face in her palms as her father continued. "Oh, don't give me that, Ruby. You spent damn near every day you couldn't spend with your sister and her friends brooding in your room."

"Taiya, language," Summer chided her husband as she walked down the stairs, still clad in her pajamas, though she'd thrown a soft pink robe over them. "Good morning, Ruby," Summer said, planting a kiss on the back of Ruby's head as she walked by.

"Ugh, Mom!" Ruby exclaimed, vigorously rubbing her hand against the spot her mother had kissed, making Taiyang laugh as he set the plate of food down in front of her. "Why aren't you dressed yet?"

"Because _I_ don't have to go into work until eleven," Summer said, letting out a comfortable sigh as she sat next to Ruby. "It's been a long time since I've been able to stay here so late, so I'm making the most of it. Speaking of things we haven't done in a while, though," Summer said, frowning as she looked at Ruby again, "you slept in Yang's room again, didn't you?"

Ruby blushed, and hurriedly chewed and swallowed the bite she'd taken. "I'm sorry," Ruby mumbled after a moment, staring at feet. "I... it was a bad one, and I woke up at midnight, and Yang was still up, and-"

"It's okay, Ruby," Summer said soothingly, placing her hand on her daughter's shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Just... don't do it too much, okay? You're both getting old enough that you should be thinking about your independence."

"Wait, hold on," Taiyang said as he sat a plate in front of Summer, "Yang let you sleep in her bed?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, frowning at her father. "Why?"

"What'd she say when you woke her up?" Taiyang asked, fighting back his grin as he made Ruby blush again.

"Th-that I should take a shower," Ruby mumbled, picking up one of her biscuits and taking a large bite out of it in a feeble attempt to end the conversation.

Taiyang turned back to the stove, biting his lip to keep himself from laughing, and Summer tried to mute a chuckle of her own into a biscuit.

"Morning," Yang said as she came down the stairs, startling Summer and Taiyang. She was still wearing her pajamas, though they seemed slightly damp to her parents' keen eyes, and her skin seemed to be shining in the morning sunlight. "What's for breakfast?" Yang asked, settling herself into a chair and letting out a yawn.

"Biscuits," Taiyang said, starting to put together a plate for her. "It'll be a minute, though; I didn't expect you to be up so early."

"I probably wouldn't be if not for Ruby," Yang said, tossing a halfhearted glare at her sister, who just replied with a sheepish smile.

"You worked out?" Summer asked, raising an eyebrow at the state of her step-daughter.

"Yeah. Helps me wake up sometimes. Thanks," Yang said, accepting the glass of water her father put in front of her.

"You decided to work out while wearing your pajamas," Summer said, letting the corners of her mouth twitch upwards into a smile. "How much of what?"

"Uh," Yang said, tugging at the tank top clinging to her chest as she blushed. "Six sets of seventy-five squats, same with crunches, and four sets of fifty burpies?" Yang said, her voice morphing it into a question under her step-mother's gaze.

"And these," Taiyang said, setting a tall glass of milk and a trio of multi-colored pills in front of Yang, who let out an annoyed sigh. "Don't start with me, Yang. You know what could happen if you overdo it."

"Yeah," Yang mumbled dejectedly, picking up the glass and pills. "Ugh, I hate milk," Yang mumbled, glaring at the glass. "I don't know how you can stand the stuff, Ruby."

"Why? It tastes good to me," Ruby said, picking up her own glass of milk and taking a sip. " _I_ don't get why you _don't_ like it."

"Are you two going to have this argument again?" Summer asked, smirking at the two girls.

"No," Yang and Ruby said, instantly and simultaneously.

"Good," Summer said, wiping off her hands with a napkin; she'd already finished her first biscuit. "Now, what's on the agenda for today?"

Yang let out another sigh. "I'm dropping Ruby off at the bus stop near Weiss's place, where she'll get on a bus with Whitley," Yang began. "She'll be going off to hang out with her classmates while Weiss and I go over to Blake's house for the day. Practice. You know."

"Getting the old band back together?" Taiyang asked.

Yang blushed, but nodded and said, "Yeah. We'll probably go out for lunch, but other than that we'll just be at Blake's all day."

"Good to know," Summer said, turning her silver eyes to Ruby. "And what'll you be doing, Ruby?"

"Like Yang said, just spending time with some classmates," Ruby said with a shrug. "We'll be at the mall, going through the arcade, bookstores; you know, just, that sort of thing. We're planning on seeing a movie after we get lunch, though, so we probably won't be out too late."

"What movie?" Summer asked, partly out of protective motherly instinct and partly out of genuine curiosity.

"I think it's some slasher thing, but it's PG-13, not R, so it'll probably be nothing really interesting," Ruby said, stuffing the last bite of her biscuit into her mouth the moment she'd finished talking.

"So, what'll you two be doing today?" Yang asked, making her sister smile deviously. "I mean, you're always asking us, so how about we ask for once?"

Summer chuckled, nodding her head. "Fair enough. I'm going to be filling out paperwork for a few hours before I get put onto a joint task force with the DEA. Another scouting attempt, most likely."

"Again?" Ruby asked, scowling. "Haven't you told them no, like, six times already?"

"I'm actually thinking about saying yes, this time," Summer admitted, glancing at Taiyang as he set a pair of plates, loaded with food, down on the table before sitting down himself. "With you two going to start college soon, we'll be wanting that sort of extra income, and I'm in a good place to negotiate for a bigger paycheck."

"You know, I am working right now," Yang said. "I can pay for my own college tuition, or at least enough that a student loan wouldn't be crippling."

"And Master Lin said he's willing to hire me on as an assistant teacher at the dojo once I turn sixteen," Ruby added. "So you don't need to take a job you don't want, Mom."

"I know," Summer said, smiling broadly. "But, if I act like I want to just for the pay raise, the Chief might just give in and give me one instead of letting me go to the DEA. Like I said, I'm in a good place to negotiate."

Taiyang chuckled. "That's downright devious, Summer," Taiyang said, leaning over and planting a tiny kiss on his wife's cheek. "Never change."

"Don't plan on it," Summer said, smiling at him in such a sensual manner that it made Ruby and Yang uncomfortable.

"As for me, well, I can't say," Taiyang said cheerfully. "I'm working another case. Client confidentiality, you know. Don't know when I'll be home by today, though, so you girls might be on your own for dinner!"

Yang rolled her eyes and sighed, mumbling, "And they expect _us_ to plan out every last minute," which made Ruby giggle.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Good morning, Carol!" Taiyang said enthusiastically as he walked through the door to the building his office dwelt in, a six-story no-nonsense concrete spire. Carol, the on-duty security officer, nodded her head to him sleepily, tousling her short blonde hair. "Now, don't be too excited to see me; you know I'm married, right?"

"Bite me," Carol said, giving him a tired glare, her green eyes bloodshot and bearing dark rings beneath them. She was holding a can nearly as long as her forearm, the word ENERGY emblazoned in bright green on its side giving Taiyang a good guess as to what it was.

"Love you too, Carol," Taiyang said, grinning at her as he pressed the elevator call button. "Any mail for me?" he asked, waiting for the elevator to come down from the second floor.

"No," Carol mumbled, letting out a yawn. Taiyang chuckled under his breath as he stepped onto the elevator.

The fifth floor held two separate offices, but they both belonged to the same business, as told by the engraving on the window of the door leading to their shared space: Shepherd and Xiao Long Detective Agency.

(Hey, the man named his dog "Two", and his daughter the second syllable of his own name. He's not exactly good at naming things. I would've named it something like "Dragon's Breath Detectives" if I was naming it. Wait a second... I did name it! Nooo!)

"Morning, Tai," the man sitting at the main desk in the wide room between their offices said, his voice thick from years of heavy drinking. He was wearing a heavy black coat that was zipped from the waist to halfway up his neck, and nearly hid his black silk trousers from view. His hair and eyes were similarly dark, but his skin seemed to be milk-white compared to his clothes. "You're late."

"It's only ten, Zeph," Taiyang said, rolling his eyes. "Excuse me for spending some time with my family."

"Normally I would, but we've got some more clients lined up, and one of them's got something right up your alley," Zephyr Shepherd said, tapping a finger against the cheap plastic folder that was open on the desk.

"How so?" Taiyang asked, picking up the folder and starting to read.

"Order of the Maidens ring a bell?" Zephyr asked, drawing a nod from Taiyang, who was still reading. "Some folk think they're starting up again, and we've got a full coalition of 'concerned parents' looking to find out if they need to worry about their kids, friends, relatives, etc."

"Sounds more like they're just looking for an excuse to be dicks," Taiyang said with a sigh. "But, a paycheck's a paycheck, and looking for a cult means a lot of man hours, even with my contacts. You give them a yes yet?"

"Nope," Zephyr said, shaking his head. "Didn't know for sure you'd want this or not."

"Fair enough," Taiyang said. "They give you a number to call?"

"Front page of that folder. Claudia Strong, thirty-two, Professor of Anthropology at the local college."

Taiyang let out a low whistle, looking up from the folder. "Then we might actually have something real here. Strong's not one to overreact."

"That was my impression of her."

"We still have my old notebooks?" Taiyang asked, drawing a nod and a grunt from Zephyr. "Where?"

"Probably in that hurricane you call a desk," Zephyr said, the corner of his lip quirking up briefly. "And I ain't gonna help you look."

"You take being a private dick to a whole new level. Dick," Taiyang said, chuckling as he headed to his office.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"I mean, when's the last time you even considered saying yes to those Agency chumps?" a man was saying, his voice a deep rumble, as Summer took a sip from her cellophane cup of tea. He was tall and broadly built, his blue uniform fitting snugly save for the darker blue overcoat he'd added to it, an addition that was only barely tolerated by the rest of the police force. His hair was deep black, and his eyes were a bright yellow that always made Summer think of the sun. "Seriously, Summer, I don't think they'll buy it this time."

"If they didn't think I'd accept the job, they wouldn't be offering it to me, now would they, Ghira?" Summer asked, rolling her eyes at her partner's criticism.

"I mean... the people above us, in the department that'd actually need to approve a pay raise," Ghira Belladonna said, letting out a sigh. "They're not gonna buy that you'd go over to the DEA."

"Then I'll just have to accept the offer this time," Summer said with a shrug, taking another sip of her tea. "We're only a year out from our kids going to college, Ghira, and even if Yang decides not to, well, we could still wind up needing the extra money."

"Yeah," Ghira said, taking a swallow from his own cellophane cup, filled with coffee instead of tea. "Listen, Summer, if you wind up needing any money, you know my wife and I are willing to help, right? If you still need to pay off any medical bills, or need help paying for your daughters' college, or anything."

Summer sighed, offering her partner a small, tight-lipped smile. "I don't, thank the gods," Summer said, relief clear in her eyes. "We finished paying off Yang's last broken arm a few months ago, and Taiyang and I make enough that we're getting by, especially now that both Ruby and Yang are in public school, instead of private. But," Summer added, letting out a dejected sigh, "if I wind up needing another loan, I'll go to you instead of the bank."

"Well, that'll keep Kali off my back," Ghira said, injecting some good humor into his tone, only to become serious again when he added, "I'm serious, though. If you need anything, feel free to come to us. We've been partners, what, twenty-two years now?"

"Yeah," Summer mumbled, scowling at her tea.

"We've been friends since second grade, our kids go to school together. Hell, you were the one who introduced me to Kali in the first place, Summer," Ghira said, only for her to raise her hand and interrupt him before he could say anything else.

"Okay, that's enough," Summer said, annoyed. "Can we please just move on? I don't like talking about this crap with my _husband_ , Ghira; I'm not exactly gonna be grateful to talk to you about it."

"Okay, okay," Ghira said, nodding his head slowly. "So... you're not the only one looking at a promotion. I just got word this morning that the Chief's looking to retire soon, and he's considering a few people to take his place."

"You're a candidate for chief of police?" Summer asked, raising an eyebrow as she smirked at him.

"You are, too," Ghira rumbled, making Summer's eyebrows shoot up. "Chief's looking at everyone with more than ten years under their belts, so we're probably damn high on the list. Though I'm probably a bit higher, since you keep getting scouting by the Agency."

"Hmm, if that's the case, then maybe I don't have to go to them," Summer mused, making Ghira chuckle.

"Ghira," said another police officer, this one with long blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, as she walked up to them. "Chief wants you in his office."

"Thanks, Shaw," Ghira said, nodding at the officer. "I'll be there in a minute."

"Well, I should get back to my desk," Summer said as Officer Shaw left them. "Paperwork doesn't do itself, after all."

Ghira chuckled again, nodding at her. "Yeah. I'll get enough of that when I'm your boss."

Summer snorted off a laugh, shaking her head. "Good luck with that."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Damn it!" Ruby growled, slapping her hand against the arcade cabinet. "I thought you said you'd never played this game before!"

"Well, that may have been an exaggeration," the girl said, her grin wide enough to make her cheeks hurt. Her black hair was long enough to rest on her shoulders in twin tails, the three silver highlights focused solely on her left side, and her bright amber eyes held a glint of mischief as she added, "I've never played it in an _arcade_ before."

"Damn it!" Ruby repeated, feeling her scowl slowly replace itself with a resigned smile. "Well, Lilith, I guess I owe you lunch, then."

"Looks like," the girl said, smoothing out an imaginary wrinkle in her top, a tight black blouse with enough buttons open that it revealed the tops of her ample breasts and the slightest silvery fringe of her bra; combined with her tights, which held the same silver-and-black motif as the rest of her outfit, it gave her a certain image, and the term that Ruby would use to describe her (not to her face, of course) would be _jail-bait_.

Ruby had originally only wanted to spend the day with Whitley and Neo, but Lilith Veon had wound up talking herself and her cousin, Solon Uziel, into tagging along. Ruby and Whitley had gotten to the mall first, though they'd been joined by Neo almost before they went into the first bookstore. After half an hour of browsing and shopping, Lilith and Solon had joined them, as had another of their classmates, Isabella Siverand, who'd insisted on being called Izzy. They'd briefly gone into a game shop, where Lilith picked up a long, thin, cardboard box that she'd crammed into her backpack, and then gone to the only arcade at the mall.

Third Circle Arcade was part of the largest chain of arcades in the Kingdom of Vale, but wasn't quite as large as its heritage would lead you to believe; it had been the third arcade of its kind ever opened, in the city that their owner, Ramona Curtis, had grown up in. It was only large enough to hold a couple dozen game cabinets and an equal amount of other types of game, such as a pair of skee ball games and billiard tables, to provide for a more diverse sort of crowd since she hadn't been secure in the belief that her business would succeed.

"Well then," Lilith said, rubbing her hands together excitedly as she turned to face the rest of the group. "I'm feeling like dessert, too, now. Any takers?"

Neo smirked cockily and stepped forward, putting a pair of coins on the machine. She was wearing a white overcoat over her black trousers and white shirt; her purse, which she set down at her feet once she was at the cabinet, wasn't quite the same shade of white as her coat, providing an odd contrast of similarity.

"Good luck, Neo!" Ruby said, clapping a hand on the shorter girl's shoulder as she stepped away.

Neo flashed her a small smile, then turned her attention to the arcade cabinet. She and Lilith slid their coins into the small slots on the front of the machine simultaneously, and then started to play.

Two minutes later, Lilith let out a low groan and slapped the stick she'd been using to control her character. "Damn, girl, I thought _I_ was good," Lilith grumbled, giving Neo a mock scowl. "I've never had anyone get a Perfect against me before! Well, at least I'm only paying for _your_ lunch," Lilith added after a moment, directing a smirk at Ruby, who rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," Ruby said, letting out a sigh.

Neo, having noticed Ruby's apparent melancholy, pulled her notepad and a pencil from one of the pockets of her coat, then started writing something down. Showing it to Ruby, she gave a cocky smile.

 _Want to try again?_

"Me?" Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow. "What would you even get if you won?"

 _Lunch, but sometime else._

"Sometime else?" Ruby asked, making Neo giggle. "I don't know... no, you know what, yes. I'm in."

Another two minutes later, Neo's eye was twitching as she saw her character take one last hit from Ruby's. The words _Player 2_ appeared over the word _Victory_ this time, which surprised the group of first-years.

"Huh," Lilith said, cocking her head sideways. "I guess button-mashing works against some people."

"I-it can happen if yo-you're expe-expecting a certain level of skill," Solon said, scratching his chin beneath his relatively impressive beard; it was nearly half a foot long, and, since it was the same steely grey as his hair, lent him an odd sort of maturity, as did the copper-frame glasses he wore over his grey eyes. He was wearing relatively simple attire compared to his cousin, a blue T-shirt and jeans with a light grey windbreaker.

"Thanks for the game, Neo," Ruby said, smiling at the shorter girl. "I'll try to go easy on your wallet, I promise."

Neo sighed, then smiled and nodded at Ruby. She'd nearly forgotten about the sheer appetite that the Rose had displayed throughout the week during their lunch breaks, regularly tearing through the contents of her lunch before Neo and Whitley had managed to get halfway through their own; since Ruby also ate granola bars at every break period, it had come as a bit of a shock to them.

"Good thing we set that eight-dollar limit, then, huh?" Whitley asked, making Ruby giggle and roll her eyes again.

"You were exaggerating about that, right?" Izzy asked, cocking her head to one side and making her ponytail of platinum blonde hair fall over her shoulder. She wore a plain green tank top, a pair of unadorned blue jeans, and an unzipped grey hoodie, as well as a necklace, the fake sapphire strung on it just as bright and blue as her eyes. "I still don't believe that you need that much food."

"You'll see in a bit," Ruby said, smiling sheepishly. "So, anyone else want a turn?" Ruby asked, stepping away from the arcade cabinet.

There was a chorus of no's, after which the group of six started to leave the arcade. Ruby was chatting with Izzy at the head of the group, with Solon and Lilith only a few steps behind them, but Whitley tapped Neo on the shoulder to get her attention, and they stayed just far enough away to talk.

"You lost on purpose, didn't you?" Whitley asked quietly, smiling when he saw Neo freeze and blush. "I thought so. Why?"

Neo didn't pull out her notepad, instead opting to glare at Whitley and start after the group.

"Oh, I get it. You like her."

And then she froze again, turning to stare at Whitley with wide, unblinking eyes.

"Relax, I won't say anything," Whitley said, raising a hand in a soothing gesture. "I've got practice at not talking about these sorts of things." Neo raised her eyebrow, and Whitley shook his head. "Not important. Just don't take too long before you ask her out, Neo. You might be disappointed if she ends up with some exchange student instead."

Neo turned a heated glare at Whitley, straightened her back, and nodded, as if accepting a challenge. It took Whitley a moment to understand, but then he sputtered and shook his head.

"Not me!" Whitley insisted, feeling his cheeks warm. "I'm not... that way."

Neo's eyes widened again, and she pulled out her notepad, about to write something down when Whitley stopped her, grabbing her hand lightly.

"Yes, I'm gay," Whitley hissed out, glancing ahead of them at the rest of their classmates. "Look, I don't talk about this because I don't know what my father would do if he found out. Can we keep this a secret? Please?"

Neo looked at him for a moment, then nodded slowly, making Whitley let out a relieved sigh.

"Hey!" Lilith's shout made the two of them both jump. "What's taking you guys? Hurry up, or we're making you pay for the drinks!"

Neo snorted off a laugh, then jogged to catch up with them, Whitley right behind her.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

 _"Carry on my wayward son!_

 _There'll be peace when you are done!_

 _Lay your weary head to rest!_

 _Don't you cry no more."_

"Okay, hold on, stop," Yang said, shaking her head. Her hair had been bound up in a ponytail, earlier, but most of it had come loose. "Something's... off."

"Sorry," Blake said. "I'm a bit out of practice, I guess. Fingers get rusty when they're away from the guitar too long."

"I don't think it was that," Yang said, setting her drumsticks down and standing back up. "Weiss, was your voice shaking?"

"I-I, um," Weiss mumbled, turning her gaze down to the heavy bass guitar that she was holding. "Ma-maybe?"

"You didn't take your meds this morning, did you?" Yang asked, making Weiss blush and shake her head. "Why not?"

"I di-... I didn't think I'd need them," Weiss said, setting her bass to one side and smoothing an imaginary wrinkle out of her white blouse. "I-I thought I'd be fi-fine today."

"It's okay, Weiss," Yang said, giving the white-haired girl a soft smile. After a moment, she walked over to where Weiss was sitting and gently placed her hand on her shoulder. "You were doing fine. I think we're all just a bit out of practice."

Weiss smiled up at Yang, then nodded. "Thanks, Yang," Weiss said softly.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I could go for some lunch," Yang announced, stretching her arms over her head.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Blake agreed. "Oh, I should touch up my makeup before we go," she added after a moment, frowning.

"That's probably a good idea," Weiss said, wincing as she looked at the half-moon rashes on the Faunus's cheeks. "If we run into Winter or Whitley, or anyone else who knows dick about medicine, they'll probably know what those mean, a-and considering how much you di-didn't want to tell us about them..." Weiss trailed off, shaking her head sadly.

"I still don't get why your dad wanted your whole family to know about that stuff, Weiss," Yang said, changing the subject as they headed towards the staircase at the other end of the Belladonna family basement. In addition to the girls' instruments and assorted musical equipment, it held a myriad of boxes, filled with things they'd been forced to put into storage due to a lack of space upstairs.

"Wh-when I find out, I'll let... I'll let you know," Weiss stammered, blushing.

Blake was chuckling as they made it up the sixteen short steps and opened the mostly soundproofed door to the first floor. "Hey, Mom," Blake greeted her mother, walking past her on the way to her room, only to pause and give her a second glance when she noticed what her mother was holding in her arms.

"Hello, Blake," Kali Belladonna said, smiling at her daughter. She was wearing a simple yet pretty dress, made with a lot of black and white, as well as a coat that covered most of her. Her sneakers, similarly white-and-black, somehow managed to not clash, though the dog she held in her arms did, despite matching the color scheme. The feline ears atop her head twitched as she noticed the two young women with Blake, ruffling her silky black hair, and she added, "Oh, hello Yang, Weiss."

"Hi, Auntie Kali," Yang said, smiling at the older woman. "How's Zwei been doing?" she asked, moving closer to gently ruffle the tired Corgi's ears. At the attention, he cracked open an eye and tiredly licked her wrist for a moment before settling back down.

"Oh, he's doing much better," Kali said, moving past her to set him down on a small dog bed just next to the couch in the living room, a massive construct of brown leather that could easily seat five people. "I just tired him out with a few miles. Another week or so and you'll be able to take him back."

Yang sighed, her shoulders sagging with relief. "Thanks, Kali," Yang said. "I know we've been saying this a lot, but I really appreciate you taking care of him for us."

"Oh, it's nothing, really," Kali said, waving away Yang's comment. "I'm happy to have a cute little thing like him around. I swear, if not for Ghira's and Blake's phobia, I'd have a dozen dogs by now!" she added, laughing.

"I'm still surprised Blake managed to pick that up," Yang said, glancing over at where Blake had been only to find that she'd disappeared at some point.

"Oh, she probably just had a few nightmares about wolves when she was little. You know how Ruby was when she was younger," Kali said, shaking her head sadly. "So, you girls going somewhere?" she asked, nodding toward Weiss, who was sneakily putting her shoes back on.

"Just out to lunch," Yang said. "We're just waiting on Blake to touch up her makeup."

"Ah," Kali said, her smile turning into a sad frown as she glanced over at the staircase to the second floor. "Well, just make sure to enjoy yourselves, okay?" she asked, pasting a smile back on.

"You got it," Yang said, beaming at her.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

The Empty Barrel was a somewhat downtrodden little diner, more than a dozen booths and tables on the ground floor and holding a fully-stocked bar (and another four tables) on the overlook balcony that was its second floor. The wooden tables, most of which had been new and fresh only a decade ago, had been stained and worn down over the years, making them deliberately aged, a fact that many critics had considered a fault. Despite the diner's appearance and detractors, though, the staff was friendly and polite, and the kitchen staff worked hard to produce the best food they could.

It also happened to be Ruby's favorite restaurant, catering to the police force by offering them and their families a small discount (when you eat as much as Ruby and Summer do, it's a pretty big deal). So, when Izzy recommended they go to The Empty Barrel, Ruby immediately agreed, and the group set off. When they arrived, they were in the middle of a rather odd conversation.

"You've never had a cheeseburger?" Lilith asked, prompting another sigh from Whitley.

"For the third time, no," the Schnee said, rolling his shoulders uncomfortably as he looked around the diner.

"How have you never had a cheeseburger?" Lilith asked, making Whitley sigh yet again.

"My father has some pretty strict rules about what his chefs make for me and my sisters," Whitley said, trying to ignore the warmth rising in his cheeks. "Not having anything he considered junk food was pretty high on his list."

"Wait, so you've never had pizza, either?" Lilith asked, drawing an odd look from Whitley.

"What?" he asked, making Ruby giggle.

"Don't worry, Whitley," Ruby said, patting his shoulder, "Weiss was the same way before she started hanging out with Yang. We'll teach you about all the stuff you missed out on, okay?"

"You know his sister?" Solon asked.

"Yeah. I used to hang out with my sister and her friends more often than not, and that included Weiss once Yang started high school," Ruby said. "So, should we find a table, or are we just gonna stand here and talk all day?"

Ruby's comment was all that it took to get the group to seat themselves at a booth, sinking into the soft faux-leather as they waited for one of the waitstaff to take their orders. Whitley wasn't quite sure what to order, so he wound up asking Ruby to pick something for him, and she also wound up needing to voice Neo's order as well, the mute girl blushing furiously the entire time. The waiter who'd taken their orders nodded his head as he wrote them down, rocking his limp black Mohawk up and down with the motion, and then disappeared into the kitchen.

"I'm guessing you know why I wanted to come here, Ruby," Izzy said offhandedly pretty much the instant the waiter started walking away.

"Oh, so that's where I've seen you before!" Ruby exclaimed, suddenly excited. "I thought you looked familiar. You were at the station that day, weren't you?"

"If by 'that day', you mean during 'bring your daughter to work day', then yes," Izzy said.

"Wait, I'm lost," Lilith said, looking between the two of them. "By station, you mean...?"

"The police station," Ruby said. "My mom's a cop. So's Izzy's... dad, right?" Since everyone was focused on Ruby and Izzy, no one noticed Neo suddenly pale.

"Step-dad, but yeah," Izzy said.

"So, why's that got to do with why you wanted to come here?" Lilith asked.

"Friend of the force discount," Izzy said, grinning broadly. "The owner's got a lot of family in law enforcement all around the kingdom, so he gives cops a small discount, as well as their families and friends. Damn good thing to have, especially with a Rose at the table."

Ruby blushed and looked away, trying to hide her embarrassment and failing miserably. "It's a genetic disorder," she mumbled as Neo awkwardly pat her arm in an attempt to cheer her back up; it was far from the first time Neo wished she could still speak normally, but the desire hit her more strongly than usual as her first friend in a long time seemed depressed.

"Yeah, there's a lot of those around here," Lilith said with a sigh. "You get anything good out of it, at least?"

"A couple things," Ruby said, shrugging a shoulder as she slumped even further into her seat. "Small injuries close in a day, and I can walk off broken bones with a couple glasses of milk and a good night's rest. The bad outweighs the good, though."

"Least you got something good out of it," Lilith mumbled. "I have to deal with Sol being a smug little jerk about his talent."

"I-I'm sorry, Lil, bu-but it comes from my, my father," Solon said.

"Hold on," Whitley said, raising up a hand and drawing everyone's attention to him. "I think I'm a little lost, here. What did we start talking about?"

"What, you don't know?" Lilith asked, blinking owlishly at him.

"Weiss didn't know when she first got here either," Ruby said, letting herself smile. "I was there when Yang explained it to her, and... I wish I'd taken a picture."

"Oh yeah, your sister's the Goliath girl, right?" Izzy asked, drawing a nod from Ruby. "Damn, wish I'd been there."

"No one's explained anything yet," Whitley said, letting out a sigh as Ruby, Lilith, and Neo all giggled. "Please?"

"On one condition," Ruby said, grinning broadly, "we show you."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Taiyang stretched his arms over his head as he leaned back in his seat, relieved that he was finished making phone calls for the time being. "Gods alive, I hate talking over the phone," he groaned, pushing his chair back from his desk as he stood up. As he walked out into the shared space between his office and Zephyr's, he headed straight for the door out, saying, "Gonna go pound some pavement, maybe grab a burger. You want one?"

"Call came in," Zephyr said, making Taiyang pause as he reached for the doorknob. "High-profile out-of-country client. Requested you specifically."

"What? Seriously?" Taiyang asked, moving back towards Zephyr's desk as the pale man nodded. "Why?"

"His daughter's in town, and she's our kind of special," Zephyr said.

"Hmm... eh, I'll take it," Taiyang said, nodding his head sagely. "He leave any contact information?"

"Didn't need to; I told him you'd take the job," Zephyr said with wide, toothy grin.

"... Of course you did," Taiyang said after a brief pause, shaking his head. "So, what's the catch?"

"The girl's already in town and headed here, but apparently got lost somewhere along the way," Zephyr said, making Taiyang sigh. "She's got our names and faces on her phone, but it's not receiving any of the client's texts or calls."

"Well, either the father's been smothering her and she just turned her phone off, or she's in the Harpy ghetto," Taiyang mumbled, having pulled out a small notepad. "Actually, given the date and time, she might just be too close to them... You got a description for me?"

"Yep," Zephyr said, handing him a small printout with a black-and-white picture on it and several handwritten notes about her eye, hair, and skin color.

"Gotta love technology," Taiyang mused, looking over the image for a moment before folding it and putting it away. "Anything else?"

"He paid fifteen grand up front," Zephyr said, turning his tablet computer around so Taiyang could see the bank statement. "That tell you anything?"

"Yeah, yeah, no screwing around," Taiyang said, rolling his eyes as Zephyr let out a raspy chuckle. "I'll bring her back here and give her a copy of the bus schedule, then start on teaching her some basics. That fine by you?"

"Yep. Luck."

Before Taiyang could actually get out the door, his phone let out a short, upbeat tune, and he pulled it back out of his pocket with a sigh.

 _Turn's out Weiss's bro doesn't know about our city, so we're taking him to see Pyrrha and Nora. Looks like I'm following in your footsteps, huh?_

Taiyang chuckled, feeling a grin stretch his lips. "What's that you always say, Zeph?" Taiyang asked as he pulled out the girl's picture again. "Division of labor?"

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"So, who are we going to see again?" Whitley asked, his fingers twitching in his pockets as his classmates led him through a sketchy part of town. He remembered their names, of course, and even why they were going to meet them, but wanted to take his mind off of the fact that he'd never been anywhere so downtrodden in a major city before.

Calling the Harpy district "downtrodden" was likely being overly kind. It was full of decrepit buildings, ranging from old and broken houses to massive, dust- and cobweb-covered warehouses, and as such had been the target of two types of attention: reformation from the local government, who wanted the district to stop being a blight on the city; and, from a wide variety of criminals, the need to take shelter. The pavement and concrete in the ghetto was in a state of disrepair, and stains were so commonplace that it was nearly impossible to walk through without stepping on a spot claimed by old blood, or booze, or urine. The place had long since been cordoned off by the government, who wanted to refurbish it before they opened it to the public again, something that the local criminal elements opposed; the more well-connected crime lords used their influence to reduce the amount of budget that the government could allocate to the task, whereas the more common thugs, burglars, and high school vandals preferred to simply take a bat or crowbar into the district and have some fun.

"A couple friends of mine," Ruby said, turning on her heel to walk backwards so she could face the group while she talked; the detective's daughter was evidently unimpressed by the threat the Harpy district represented. "My dad's a private investigator who helps out people like us, so I've met enough people to get a good feel for the city. Pyrrha and Nora are pretty cool people, but their practice sessions tend to be a bit... loud, so they like to have them in the more run-down areas of the city."

"What do you mean by 'people like us'?" Whitley asked, only to sigh as Ruby whistled innocently and turned back around. "Am I included in 'us'?"

"Yes," Ruby said, not bothering to mask her smile since she was at the head of the pack. Only Neo, walking next to her, could see it, and she felt herself smile at the sight. "You want to make a guessing game out of this?"

"I'd like to see that," Izzy said, smirking at Whitley as he let out another sigh.

"Is anyone else concerned with walking through the Harpy ghetto, or is it just me?" Lilith asked, looking around warily. She was trying to keep her expression neutral, but was failing spectacularly; fear shone in her eyes as she wrapped Solon's windbreaker more tightly around her shoulders, covering up the assets she'd so brazenly had on display earlier.

"Relax, Lil," Izzy said, rolling her eyes. "Group this big won't be a target, even though we're mostly girls."

"Besides, I'm sure at least a couple of you can help me in a fight," Ruby said, glancing over her shoulder and offering a wide grin.

"You can fight?" Lilith asked, timidly frowning at Ruby.

"I'm pretty well trained in a few different martial arts," Ruby said.

"Saw that coming," Izzy said, rolling her eyes again. "Let me guess: you go with your mom, the cop?"

"Yeah?" Ruby said, her voice forming it into a question as she glanced over at the platinum-blonde.

"My dad's the same way," Izzy said, bobbing her head up and down. "Though he wanted me to learn one martial art in particular instead of cobbling a whole bunch of styles together."

"What'd you learn?" Ruby asked, perking up a bit.

"Taekwondo."

"That's heavy on kicking and legwork, right? I've got some Capoeira for that."

"That is one of the worst comparisons you could've made. Caopeira relies on constant motion, while Taekwondo emphasizes relaxing your body between each strike to conserve energy."

"I was more referring to the exercises involved in learning it and the actual strikes themselves, not so much the underlying theory behind them."

"Okay, I'm gonna need to stop you two there," Whitley interjected, his eyelid twitching. "Why are we out here again?"

"Right," Ruby said after a moment, letting out a sigh. "Well, we've got two reasons. One is to mess with Whitley as much as possible before we actually tell him anything-"

"Hey!"

"and the second," Ruby continued, shooting a grin over her shoulder at him before her expression turned serious, "is to find a girl about our age. She's not from around here, either, and may have wandered into Harpy on accident. Since I know what Pyrrha and Nora like to do out here on weekends, it'd be a good idea to check in with them first, see if they've seen her."

"Okay, wait, what?" Lilith asked, her earlier fear suddenly disappearing. "We're doing what?"

"Why do y-you know this?" Solon asked, narrowing his eyes at Ruby.

"My dad's the P.I. who got hired to introduce her to all this," Ruby said, directing a smirk at Whitley.

"Why can't her folks or something just call her?" Izzy asked, scowling at Ruby.

"If she's in here, it's because there's no cell service here," Ruby said, gesturing around them. "Something about a perfectly terrible intersection of cell towers. If she's not in Harpy, then, well, it's because her phone's batteries are dead and there's no helping it."

"So you want us to help?" Lilith asked, only to sigh a moment later. "Okay, then let's stop for a minute."

Ruby paused mid-step, looking at her. The rest of the group did the same, only for her to nod to Solon, who nodded as well and closed his eyes.

"Okay, what's going on?" Whitley asked yet again. "I'm seriously starting to get sick of asking, now, guys."

"Oh!" Ruby exclaimed, glancing between the two cousins excitedly. "He's a clairaudient?"

"You catch on quick, Rose," Lilith said, winking at her; Neo fumed soundlessly at the action, but managed to contain herself enough that no one noticed. "Yep, he's taking a listen around the ghetto."

"Clairaudient?" Whitley asked, frowning at Lilith.

"I've got two female voices about two blocks east," Solon said, his eyes still closed; his stutter was gone, at least for the time being. "But there's... five heartbeats over there, not just the two women."

"Five's more than usual, so she might be over there," Ruby commented, starting off in that direction. Lilith jostled Solon with her shoulder as the group started to move again, dragging him out of his trance and letting him rejoin them. "Thanks, Solon!"

"N-no problem, R-Ruby," he said, his stutter back.

"Is anyone gonna tell me what just happened?" Whitley asked, glancing warily at the bearded young man. "How can you hear a heartbeat from that far away, much less tell how _many_ of them there are?"

"We'll get to that in a moment, Whitley," Ruby said, giggling.

"Why?" Whitley groaned as Ruby kept giggling; this only made Lilith start giggling as well. "Why are you like this?"

"Now, now, Whitley," Lilith said between laughs, "patience is its own reward."

"I don't think that really applies in this situation," Whitley said, his shoulders slumping. "But fine. Whatever."

As Ruby led the group through an alley, a pair of arguing voices began to drift in around them. Both were unmistakably female, although one was high-pitched and very enthusiastic whereas the other was deep and rich.

"I'm telling you, she's _fine_ ," the higher-pitched voice said, drawing out the last word for a full second. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"Nora, she passed out when she saw what we were doing," the deeper voice countered. "For all we know, she hit her head when she hit the ground. She could need medical attention!"

" _She's fine_ ," the higher-pitched voice repeated.

Ruby sighed as she walked into the space surrounding the former basketball court, flanked by concrete buildings on all sides. The court itself was surrounded by a somewhat rusted chain link fence, though the pair of plastic folding chairs that sat just outside of it seemed new. On one of them was a girl, her hair a very orange shade of red; her pale skin and her dress, a grey base with several green accents and almost electronic patterns, only made her hair seem even lighter.

"Ruby?" asked one of the men standing nearby. His hair was blonde, his eyes blue, and he was wearing a very basic outfit: a black hoodie, blue jeans, and white canvas sneakers. His question drew the attention of the other, a black-haired individual with pink-hued eyes. "What're you doing here?"

"I think I'm here for her," Ruby said, pointing a finger at the unconscious girl as she dug her phone out of one of her pockets. "What happened?"

The blonde grimaced, glancing over at the basketball court again. Ruby turned to look, seeing the pair of curvy redheads. The taller one's hair was scarlet, her green eyes providing a contrast that Ruby couldn't help but envy every time she saw her; she was wearing a simple bronze T-shirt and tight grey leggings, as well as a pair of strapped sandals that wrapped halfway up her calves. The other's hair was more orange, much like the unconscious girl, and her blue eyes near-constantly sparkled with a mischievous glee and hidden wit; she wore a pink jacket, much like the black-haired man's green, and her black skirt held a sewn-in print of a heart with a lightning bolt piercing it.

"She saw them practicing and just... fell over?" the blonde said, shrugging a shoulder as his voice cracked from anxiety.

"Uh, Ruby?" Lilith asked, tapping her on the shoulder. "What's going on? You know these guys?"

"Oh, right," Ruby said, smiling nervously as she rubbed the back of her head. "Everyone, these are Jaune and Ren," Ruby said, pointing to each of them in turn, "and those are Pyrrha and Nora. Jaune, Ren, these are Lilith, her cousin Solon, Neo, Whitley, and Izzy."

"Hi," Jaune said, raising a hand awkwardly. "Uh, nice to meet you?"

"Yep, she's who I'm here for," Ruby said, glancing between her phone and the unconscious girl. "Oh, sorry, Whitley," Ruby added after a moment, turning to smile apologetically at the white-haired boy. "Looks like you'll have to wait a bit more."

"Yeah, I'm not that worried about that right now," Whitley said, frowning down at the unconscious redhead. "I think I've seen her before."

"Really?" Ruby asked, taken aback.

"If I'm right, she's Count Polendina's daughter," Whitley said. "My father tries to maintain a good reputation among the nobility in Mantle, so he's taken my sisters and me to meet with them and their children on more than one occasion."

"Well, her name's apparently Penny Poleldina, so I think that's a good guess," Ruby said, drawing a soft snort of laughter from Neo. "Hey, Pyrrha, Nora!" Ruby shouted suddenly, making her companions jump. "Would you two quit arguing and get over here already?! I need a phone line!"

"What... Ruby?" the scarlet-haired woman asked, frowning at Ruby. "What are you doing here?"

"A favor for my dad," Ruby answered, pointing at Penny again. "Can you two make me a line so I can call him and tell him I found her? Please?" she added after a moment, pushing out her lower lip in a pout.

Pyrrha sighed, then glanced to where Nora had been only a moment later, only to see that she was already working to help Ruby. Flickering electricity gathered in the shorter redhead's palms, arching between her hands as she smiled sweetly at Pyrrha. "Looks like we're doing this, huh?" Pyrrha mumbled, flexing her hand and focusing on her own gift. With a flick of her wrist, a flickering black miasma surrounded one of the bent metal poles that used to be basketball goals.

Electricity blasted from Nora's hands and to the pole, making both of them sigh in relief. "Check!" Pyrrha called out.

Ren drew a small device from one of his pockets and glanced at its screen. "Needs to be higher," he called back. Pyrrha's eyes narrowed as she concentrated, only to ask again a moment later. After only about fifteen seconds, Ren nodded his head and said, "Hold steady." He then turned back to Ruby and added, "You should hurry. They've been at it for a while."

"Thanks," Ruby said, waking her phone and noting that, while only moments ago she'd had no service, she had a full four bars. As she raised the phone to her ear, she glanced over at Whitley and giggled at the way his mouth gaped open. "Hi Dad!" Ruby said into the phone a moment later, turning away from her companions as she spoke to her father.

"You have got to be kidding me," he said, his voice quiet as he stared wide-eyed at the two women. "What... you... what?"

"Our city's pretty cool like that," Lilith said, giggling. "So many people have powers around here that it's pretty much an open secret."

"Wait, so... you?" Whitley asked, so utterly bewildered that he was unable to form proper sentences.

"I can work with plants," Lilith said, waving her hands dramatically. With an effort of will, she made her shirt flow like water beneath her breasts, pushing them up further and making them bounce and jiggle in a way that caught quite a few eyes. "Including cotton," Lilith added with a giggle, her cheeks flushing red even as she grinned. "And you've already seen Solon do his clairaudience thing," she said, making her cousin nod.

"Geokinesis," Izzy said with a shrug. She tapped her foot against the concrete beneath her, sending a tremor through it that nearly took Whitley off his feet.

When Whitley turned to Neo, she gave him an apologetic smile and showed him her notepad, which she'd written the word _ferromancy_ on. After he turned his gaze back to her, she lifted a small metal paperclip and make it bend and twist in her hand; within seconds, it looked more like a sculpture of a hawk than a paperclip.

"Thanks, Pyrrha, Nora!" Ruby called over to them. Nora wiped the back of her hand across her forehead and let out a breath as she stopped pouring electricity from her hands, and Pyrrha stretched out her fingers, using her other hand to massage them. "Did you guys fill him in while I was on the phone?" she asked as she rejoined her group of classmates.

"Yeah," Lilith said, smirking at the way Whitley was still looking between all of them. "So, you said that he'd know what's up? After we filled him in, I mean?"

"Yeah, his sister Weiss was the same way two years ago," Ruby said, nodding her head. "She recovered right about... now."

"What?" Whitley asked on queue, making Lilith and Ruby giggle again. "Huh?"

"Not everyone's abilities are that flashy," Ruby said, nodding pointedly at where Pyrrha and Nora had moved to sit. "Mine, for example. You've already seen how much I can eat, but, like I said earlier, I can recover from just about any injury in a single day."

"What?" Whitley asked again.

"Even broken bones," Ruby continued, unconsciously moving her hand to her left shoulder. "And my mom's recovered from more gunshot wounds than I want to know about. It also makes exercising a lot easier, since I can work out 'til I drop every day and be back on my feet within a few minutes."

"Fire alive," Whitley murmured, staring at Ruby. "Seriously?"

"Yes," Ruby said, letting out a sigh. "Of course, you should already know some of this stuff. I know you and Weiss used to practice _your_ talents together before your father made you stop."

"I... you... what?"

"Oh, for..." Ruby cut herself off, letting out another sigh. "Just do it, Whitley. We're all used to this stuff out here."

"Is that... really okay?" Whitley asked, glancing around at everyone before his gaze locked on Pyrrha and Nora, who had been practicing their abilities only moments ago. "Okay, that was probably a stupid question," he mumbled, his cheeks reddening.

"Come on, man, we showed you ours," Izzy said, clapping her hand onto his shoulder and making him jump nervously. "Only fair we get to see yours."

"Calm down, Izzy," Lilith said, rolling her eyes. "This isn't the boys' locker room. That happens there, right?" Lilith asked, suddenly looking at Whitley with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Uh..." Whitley said, his eyes becoming distant for a brief moment. When he snapped out of it, he saw Neo smiling mischievously at him, and blushed again. "Okay, I'll show you guys," he said with a sigh. "Just... give me a second, okay?"

Whitley clasped his hands in front of him, interlocking his fingers as he took a deep breath. After a long moment (which Ruby used to check on the still unconscious Penny), he opened his eyes and let the breath out slowly, staring at his palms. White light began to gather there, slowly at first, then more rapidly as he concentrated, building into a mass roughly the size of a hummingbird and shaped like a wolf.

"Dura-Lumen Evocation," Ruby commented as Whitley focused on the wolf-construct, making it sit on its hindquarters and look at her. "Well, that's what Weiss called it. Easier to just say 'hard light', don't you think?"

"Wow," Lilith whispered, leaning in to stare at the miniature wolf. "That's so cool." Whitley blushed and began stammering incoherently, which only made her giggle again. Unfortunately, it also made him lose his focus, and the construct dissolved into threads of mist that quickly faded from existence.

"So, what's gonna happen now?" Izzy asked, directing a pointed look at Ruby. "We still going to that movie, or what?"

"I need to make sure Penny's gonna be okay with my dad," Ruby said, glancing over at the redhead again. "I'll catch up with you if I can, but I'll text you either way, okay?" she asked, pulling out her phone. "Let's see, whose number do I have?" she mumbled, scrolling through her contacts list.

Neo placed a scrap of paper, freshly torn out from her notepad, on top of Ruby's phone.

 _You don't have their numbers. Here's mine._

"Thanks, Neo," Ruby said, flashing a grin at the shorter woman before she set to work putting the number into her phone. "I'll text you if it looks like I'll miss the movie, okay?"

Neo nodded, giving Ruby a smile. The group exchanged their goodbyes, then left Ruby there with the unconscious Penny and the four older teenagers.

"Your classmates?" Pyrrha asked Ruby as they left. At Ruby's nod, she let out a soft chuckle. "I thought you felt people your age weren't mature enough for you, Ruby?"

Her only answer was a sigh.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Woohoo! Finally! It's over! Chapter 2 Complete!

Fuck me, this took me half a year to finish. _Fuck_. You wouldn't believe how many times I came back to write this, at the _fucking_ diner scene, and thought about just calling it quits here and deleting this story. But I persevered, and am severely underwhelmed with this chapter. It's not great.

Don't worry, though: I promise the next one will be oodles better, since we'll be getting closer to the reveal in chapter 4.

Oh, and I may have fucked myself with the scheduling regarding when the rewrite for my other story is going to start coming out. I'm hoping that the prologue will be out sometime this month (yes, I know, underachiever), and that I'll be able to rewrite at least one of its chapters each month going forward.

Until next time, everyone! Hopefully it'll be sooner than December!


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter is mostly just a continuation of the previous one, and though it was intended to have more of a focus on Summer and Yang, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Ruby and Taiyang kind of took over for a bit there. It makes sense that they would, though, given how the last chapter ended.

Speaking of last chapter, do you remember how last chapter I said that I wasn't going to be having scenes where characters sit down to eat? Boy did I fuck that up. Enjoy another diner scene.

Before we get into this, I do have a rather shameful announcement to make: I've decided to put Fallout: Remnant (my other story) on a semi-permanent hiatus. Yeah, yeah, I know, I was planning on rewriting it, but I just can't get motivated to do it, and I really don't want to move forward with the story while it's in such a sorry state. I want to give you guys my best, and that takes some serious effort.

In other (probably subconsciously related) news, I'm thinking about starting up a another fanfic, though I'm not sure whether I want it to be a Naruto fanfic (premise would be the graduation age for Konoha's shinobi academy would be 16 instead of 12, and therapy would be mandatory for all ninja) or a Mass Effect fanfic (in the Milky Way, not Andromeda, and primarily starring an asari who claims to be Shepherd's kid (yes, that _is_ ambiguous)). I've got a bit of a lust for blood building up right now, and this story isn't going to help me with that for a long, long time. I haven't decided yet, but I've thought up some decent stuff for both of them, so I could go either way. Like a bisexual. Wow, that's a really lame joke. Why am I leaving it in?

That said, there's (finally!) some real action in this chapter. Thank fuck I had Summer be alive in this story. Bloodshed and carnage for me, yahoo!

Oh, and because I apparently forgot to write this in earlier: there will never be any lemons in my stories. I'm not in the business of writing porn, especially since it goes against the content guidelines for this site (granted, that hasn't stopped everyone, but I'm a coward). If you ever see something that could be considered a lemon in one of my stories, get a bucket or something ready, because it will go horribly wrong (in a way that probably also violates other rules from the content guidelines; maybe I'm just a selective coward). That might be an exaggeration, but I won't let it stay in unless it makes me gag, which is a pretty high bar.

Well, that's enough of me bitching and moaning for now. Time for the story!

 **XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

"I think it's great, Blake," Weiss said, smiling pleasantly at the Faunus over her burger and fries. The two of them were sitting at a table in the Empty Barrel, one of Yang's favorite restaurants, which Blake and Weiss had also taken a shine to over the years. Weiss handed the sheet of paper she'd been looking over back to Blake, who took it with a grimace and a shake of her head. "I'm serious, it looks really good."

"I don't know," Blake mumbled, folding the paper up and stuffing it back into her purse. "I think I'm trying too hard, sometimes. You know?"

Weiss's smile turned bittersweet, and she nodded her head slowly. "Yeah, I know," Weiss said softly. "Mom got like that a lot, the last few years."

Blake gave Weiss a brief, muted smile, then took a dainty bite of her burger as Yang came back to their table. "Took you long enough," Blake said around her bite, a sly smile on her lips.

No matter how often Weiss saw it, she never managed to believe just how good of an actress Blake was. To go from one of the most emotional topics possible to pretending that it mattered how long her best friend took to come back from the restroom in less than a second was one of the most impressive and frightening things she'd seen.

"You know how long those lines can get," Yang said as she slumped back onto the booth her friends were sitting in. She cut off a piece of her steak and stuffed it into her mouth, closing her eyes as she chewed it. "Fuck. I hate all that makeup and shit most girls wear. No offense, girls."

"None taken," Weiss said, eating a fry to help hide her smile. Blake just waved her hand magnanimously, still chewing her latest bite. "Most of us have to try to look our best, after all," Weiss mumbled quietly, blushing as she watched Yang take another bite of her steak.

Blake, who'd heard Weiss, just rolled her eyes. "So," she said, finally swallowing, "what's the plan for everything?"

"Everything? Or just the band?" Yang asked, grinning at Blake. "Because I go over my daily plans enough with my folks."

"The band, blondie," Blake said, idly flicking a fry over at Yang. It bounced off her forehead, and she caught it and ate it, making Weiss giggle. "I mean, we don't even have a name for it yet, but you want us to get a paying gig?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm getting sick of that coffee shop," Weiss said. "It doesn't feel like we're doing anything when we're there, like we might as well still be in your parents' basement, Blake."

"Plus, getting paid means we can help your friend Adam sooner," Yang said around a mouthful of beef.

"We're already nearly there," Blake said, her blush only barely noticeable beneath her makeup. "We only need another five thousand dollars to afford the cybernetic eyes and the surgery, including recovery after the fact."

"So that's, what, another year or so of work?" Yang asked, making Blake grimace and nod. "Getting paid to play a show would mean shaving at least a month off of that, even split three ways. If we do a damn good job, which I know we can do, we could even wind up getting enough money for that within two months, instead of a year."

"Yeah," Weiss said, full of nervous pride at hearing Yang say that they were good enough. "Even faster if it's only a two-way split."

"Weiss?" Blake asked, blinking at the white-haired girl.

"W-well, I mean," Weiss began shakily, forcing a smile onto her lips as she blushed, "I-I don't really need... need the extra money. My father's paying for, for my education since I'll be going for a degree in medical research at college, and he's giving me and Whitley a stipend while we're here in Vale. So I mi-might as well not take a share from any shows we wi-wind up playing."

Blake felt herself smile, and ducked her head, murmuring a "Thank you," to Weiss.

"So," Yang drawled, grinning at her two friends in a way that made their blushes deepen, "we just need to decide what to do about it, huh? Where to play, what to play, what we should wear; those sorts of things, right?"

"Yeah," Blake said, nodding her head. "And we might want to consider writing a couple of songs ourselves, so that we're not just a cover band."

"Ugh, that sounds hard," Yang groaned, grimacing. "I don't know if I can do that."

Weiss giggled at her, shaking her head. "That's okay, Yang. Blake and I are the vocalists, so we should probably be the ones writing any lyrics. Right, Blake?" Blake just shrugged, taking another bite of her burger. "Exactly," Weiss said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, that's a load off my mind," Yang said, also rolling her eyes as she grinned at Weiss. "Thanks, Weiss."

Weiss blushed and ducked her head, mumbling out something that Yang didn't quite catch, then took a fairly large bite of her burger, intending to use it as an excuse to not speak for a while. Yang only chuckled at the display, while Blake let out a quiet sigh and shook her head.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Yep," Summer grunted, shrugging into the military-surplus tactical vest she'd been given. It was a couple sizes too large for her, but it managed to fit decently well when it was wedged over the thick bulletproof vest she was also wearing. "This is happening again."

She was in a DEA van, on her way to one of half a dozen sites that they'd decided to crack down on. It was part of a larger ring of drug busts that the Narcotics branch of the local police force had been all but forced to bring the DEA in on, and Summer was not happy about it.

"What's the problem, Rose?" one of the DEA agents riding with her asked. Ross Ellison was fairly short, only an inch or so taller than her, and had close-cropped black hair threaded with grey that was hidden under a helmet. Despite his small size, though, he was still a force to be reckoned with; years of gymnastics had been followed up by years of teaching martial arts, which had led into a career in law enforcement. He still bore thick slabs of muscles, visible even beneath his vest, which unlike Summer's was both bulletproof and tactical, bearing multiple pouches and loops that in turn carried everything from smoke grenades to a pair of adrenaline shots.

"I'm a Detective, Ellison," Summer griped at him, rolling her shoulders until she got her tactical vest to settle on them. She started putting her own gear into its various pouches, though she had much less than the agent. "Going on a big sting operation with the DEA isn't in my job description."

"The biggest sting in decades," the other agent said, this one a woman half Summer's age. She was also rather short, and had a soft, heart-shaped face and baby-blue eyes that gave her a rather innocent appearance. Despite her looks, though, Summer knew that Claire Butler could be as focused and deadly as a hawk; this wasn't the first time she'd been on an operation with her. "There hasn't been a bust like this around here since Novak was in charge."

"Shame no one ever found out what happened to him," Ellison said offhandedly, making Summer's eye twitch as she put on the mostly-bulletproof metal helmet she'd been issued. "My money's still on him getting offed by a civilian, then got replaced by a subordinate."

"What makes you say that?" Butler asked, raising a golden-blonde eyebrow.

"He's a conspiracy theorist," the van's driver said. Carlos Santiago was the tallest person in the van at a height of six feet, but he was so quiet and soft-spoken that the two agents didn't pay much attention to him. He was like Summer, a police officer who'd been roped into a DEA operation as extra muscle; she'd protested at his inclusion, since he'd only been on the force for a year, but she'd been overruled since he hadn't been willing to protest.

Of course, Summer also knew quite a bit more about him than she would any other beat cop; her husband had helped him learn how to control his telekinesis, and had actually pushed him towards a career in law enforcement after learning about some of his history, which Summer had not been privy to.

"There weren't any other crime syndicates muscling in on his territory at the time," Ellison pointed out. "None that we know about, anyway. And there wouldn't have been that many low-tier criminals getting killed along the way if it was just an internal thing."

"Unless the person who started it was also a low-tier criminal, as you put it," Summer said.

"Yeah, but that's not exactly common," Ellison said. "Street dealers don't typically wind up drug lords."

"And civilians don't typically kill off a quarter of a drug empire," Butler said. "I think its more likely that a street dealer would do it than a civilian, and even that's a hell of a lot lower than one of his rivals."

"Maybe you're just not looking at it in the same way," Ellison said, sending an annoyed glance at her.

Summer sighed as the van started to rumble as Carlos pulled off the highway, turning onto a street that led into a section of town a bit too low-priority to have much in the way of road maintenance. "Agents tend to get like this before a stakeout," Summer murmured, her voice so quiet that only Carlos could hear her. "Don't think it'll be like this when you make detective."

"Okay," Carlos said after a moment, quirking a somewhat shy smile at her before he turned his attention back to the road.

As Ellison and Butler continued to bicker, Carlos drew the car into a multi-story parking garage that was adjacent to one of any city's most heavy populated areas in the early-to-mid-afternoon: the factory district. As the term implies, there were more than two dozen factories of various sizes within walking distance of the parking garage, as well as a myriad of warehouses to store everything that got produced but wasn't getting shipped out quite yet, and each and every building was filled with its employees. But only three of them were relevant to the DEA, at the moment.

It took Carlos quite some time to find an empty spot large enough to park the van, and, to Summer's annoyance, it was both on the top level of the building and fairly close to the edge. Though being up higher would provide a much easier line of sight to their target building, the lack of coverage meant that anyone looking in their direction would have a much easier time of spotting them, and it would be harder to look mundane and blend in when viewed in profile against the sky.

Ellison flipped a switch next to him, then turned to one of the bulky monitors that had been bolted into the side of the van. It flickered to life, showing a view through the minuscule ball-camera that had been embedded into the side of the van. With a movement of a single joystick, he then pointed it straight at the warehouse they had been tasked with. With a click of a button and another motion of the stick, he zoomed in, filling the screen with a nearly-flawless image of the front door and the large bay door beside it.

Summer blinked at the display, surprised. "This is normal for you?" she asked, turning to Butler as the agents chuckled.

"For us, yeah," she said with a nod and a lazy gesture. "We get one hell of a budget, and Ellison and I like to make damn good use of it. The cameras were his idea; the leather seats were mine," she continued, giving Summer a broad grin. "Probably why you got stuck with us on this run, Rose. I hear the higher-ups have been trying to steal you away from your city for a while now."

"Why didn't I see anything like this the last time I got 'borrowed' by you two?" Summer asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That job was street level," Butler said. "We need to keep discreet, when we can, and the cameras are pretty obvious if you get close enough and you're paranoid because you're heading to your illegal drug warehouse. Up here, they're the next best thing to invisible, which lets us scout and spy to our heart's content."

"Uh-huh. And how exactly are we going to get down to the ground quickly enough to actually participate in the mission?" Summer asked, drawing another chuckle from the agent.

"Drug deals on this level don't exactly operate on the level you're used to. Dead-drops aren't reliable enough for deals this large, and there's no hiding meth in a bucket of chicken when you've got literal tons of it to move. At this warehouse, the workers take an average of eighteen minutes to load the cab of a truck, so we've got more than enough time to respond and get to ground level when we spot one of the markers."

"Markers?" Carlos asked, glancing away from the monitor he'd been watching.

"'Markers' are what we call the vans and trucks we flag to watch," Butler explained. "'Cause they're marked, y'see?"

"Oh," Carlos said, grimacing. "I should've realized that."

"Yeah, you should've, but you didn't and now you know," Butler said, giving him a grin and a thumbs-up. "You're lucky you're still a rookie, kid. People always give me funny looks when I ask them about things they think are obvious."

"Speaking of the obvious," Summer said, "mind filling me in on when we're supposed to make our move? It wasn't in our briefing."

Butler blinked at her, then grinned and nodded. "Well, the marker we're looking for typically comes in towards the end of the work day. So we're probably going to be inside the warehouse at about 5:30 or so, right, Ross?"

"Give or take a few minutes," Ellison said, tapping a keyboard attached to another display, which opened up the view from another camera.

Butler grinned at him, then sat a little straighter and frowned. "Oh, we might not be able to strike at the same time as the rest of the squads, since a lot of workers will be heading to their cars at that point."

"Stairwell on the eastern side of the building will let us hit the pavement in only a couple of minutes," Ellison said. "Potentially add in another few minutes thanks to rush hour traffic and we can be in the building with no issues."

"So around then. Thanks, Ross!" Butler exclaimed cheerfully, to which Ellison's only answer was a grunt.

Summer felt her eye twitch as she glanced at her watch. 'Only ten after two,' she thought, letting out a quiet sigh. 'Wonderful.'

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

 _The clash of steel on steel rang through his ears as he swept his sword at her, the reddened metal of his blade looking like nothing so much as a streak of blood cutting through the air. She was grimacing, only barely managing to fend off his rapid series of strikes with her own black blade. Sparks of crimson and amethyst showered from between their blades with every instant of contact._

 _And then she stumbled, losing her footing over one of the others he'd killed so easily. A gasp escaped her lips as she hit the floor, nearly drowned out by the roar of burning buildings and the screams of the dead and damned. He hefted his sword to deliver the final blow, only to hear a voice come from behind him._

 _His dream-self grinned as he looked over his shoulder, eyeing the blonde with violet eyes, but his conscious mind shuddered in horror, the memory of his experience sparking a tiny bit of control over the dream. He reached up with his other hand and grasped his sword arm, gritting his teeth with the effort._

 _He couldn't stop it. Not this time, nor any before._

 _His sword found its way into the cat-eared girl's abdomen._

 _Only a moment later, the blonde was trailing by him, his blade having sheared off one of her arms._

 _Before his revulsion and horror could wrench him into consciousness, however, he saw something he'd never before seen in this dream. It was large, larger than even the beasts that he'd seen on the way to this eventuality, and it's many tentacles draped from behind its head like massive locks of hair. Its face was like a rotten apple, holes going all the way through to the back of its head in a vague facsimile of a face._

 _But worst of all were its claws. They were longer than they had any right to be, even longer than the blade his dream-self bore, and were caked in blood and gore that had long since dried, yet was somehow still wet and fresh._

 _Just looking at the creature hurt his mind and sped his assent into consciousness, but somehow, for some reason, he felt a sense of comfort in its stare. Like it was going to change things for the better, take away the pain and misery of his dreams._

Adam woke up gasping for breath, sitting bolt-upright against a tree. It took him only a few seconds to get his breathing under control, something he'd always be thankful to one of his former comrades-in-arms for, but it took him most of a minute to remember where he was.

'The park,' he thought to himself, moving a hand to his face to wipe away his sweat and make sure the ribbon Blake had given him was still covering his eyes. 'Right. Today's Saturday.'

Adam was near the entrance to a small, forested park that he still hadn't learned the name of. He'd been sitting in the shade of a tree when he'd dozed off, but the heat pressing against his chest and arms told him that at least an hour or two had passed.

Then he remembered what his dream had been. His hands started shaking, his mouth went dry, and his breaths started coming in quick little gasps. He felt around, searching for the one thing that he knew he'd always have with him. Once he found it, he drew his guitar up into his lap and started playing.

Though his hands had been shaking, the melody that he played was strong and steady, decades of practice making it as easy as breathing for him. For as long as Adam could remember, he'd driven away his chronic nightmares with music; before he'd learned how to play it himself, he'd turn on the radio or put a CD into a player, driven by pure instinct and need to lose himself in something other than bloodlust and fear. A small smile tugged at his lips as he remembered how often he'd annoyed his parents for playing music at two in the morning.

"That's the spirit," said a voice that was very familiar to Adam. It was rough and raspy from years of smoking, but still held a firmness and strength to it that made him think of nothing so much as a mountain.

"Greg," Adam said, facing his fellow homeless man as he continued to play. "Where'd you go?"

A quiet, huffing sort of laugh came from Greg as he sat down beside Adam, the faint rustling of his worn polyester coat and jeans nearly overpowered by the crinkling of the paper bag he held. "When I realized you were asleep, I went to get us a bite to eat. Hope you don't mind me pilfering a bit from your cup, there."

Adam stopped playing and reached out, toward the copper cup he'd placed in front of him when he'd sat down. It was still there, though not the exact spot Adam remembered putting it, and it only bore a few of the bills he'd heard people put into it. Most of the change was still there, though. "Hope you didn't short me this time," he said jokingly, settling back down as he started playing again.

Greg snorted softly. "Relax, kid, I'm not in the business of robbing the blind. 'Specially not when you're so close to getting your new eyes."

Adam's mouth twitched when Greg referred to him as "kid". Since he was well into his forties, Adam could only imagine how old Greg had to be. Assuming he wasn't just taking advantage of Adam's lack of eyesight, that is.

"Still can't believe you found some girl who's willing to help you with that," Greg continued. "Cute little thing, too."

"So I've heard."

"Plus, those two friends of hers, hoo boy. One's got this huge rack, and the other's got an ass you wouldn't believe. I mean, damn, I don't believe it. It's too good."

"I'm pretty sure you're a pedophile for saying that stuff, Greg."

"Please. They're nearly eighteen, so it's not a huge deal. 'Sides, ain't the term different for when it's a girl? Like, ephebiphile or something?"

"That sounds vaguely reptilian, so I'm guessing no."

"Depends on the girl, I guess."

"That supposed to be racist?"

"Not racist when I'm part of the race, is it?"

Adam just chuckled, slowly shaking his head until he heard something echoing out from the forested park behind him. He started playing again and said, "Hush, old man. Footsteps."

He felt Greg slump down against the tree behind them, a faint wheeze coming from his lips and nose. It was an old play that they'd decided on long ago: the blind guitarist and his elderly helper, both homeless. It being true didn't mean they didn't feel the need to play it up a bit to get more sympathy from people passing by, though.

Sure enough, the footsteps came to a stop within a few feet of them. The rustling of cloth preceded the tearing sound that Adam associated with Velcro, and a few coins and bills found their way into his cup.

"Bless you," he heard Greg say softly, his voice croaky, wavering, and full of genuine gratitude.

The people who'd stopped murmured something that Adam didn't quite catch, then started walking off again.

"Good ears on you, kid," Greg mumbled once they were gone; Adam didn't need his eyes to know that his friend wore a wide grin. "Could've lost that lot without them."

"Sure," Adam said, continuing to play. He closed his eyes behind the ribbon, relaxing as he felt the music start to seep into him, soothing his body and easing his weariness the way he'd used to think only a long shower could. His music took a turn, became a song he'd never heard before, one full of hope and worry that vaguely reminded him of a dream he'd had. He tried to keep his subconscious mind guiding his fingers while tracking them with his conscious mind, trying to learn the new song as he played it.

Needless to say, it was extremely difficult.

"You know, I got that for you to eat," Greg said, nudging the paper bag resting against Adam's leg.

"In a bit," Adam said, his voice soft and quiet as a blood-red moon filled his mind's eye. "I want to see where this goes."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Stop poking her, Nora. You'll wake her up."

"Don't we want her to wake up?"

"Yes, but on her own. She'll be more receptive to what we're saying if she has some control over the situation."

"Uh, Dad? She's waking up."

"Ren?"

"Already on it."

Penny Polendina woke up slowly, despite the press of voices around her and the occasional touch of a finger to her shoulder or cheek. Her eyes fluttered open, and a yawn escaped her throat before she remembered what she'd seen.

 _Electricity arching from one girl's fingers towards a soda can, only for it to jump towards another that was very faintly glowing black, which another girl was focusing on intently. Once they noticed her, their focus wavered, and the can seemed to pulse with a faint light that made her feel sick to her stomach._

And then nothing. Penny blinked up at the ceiling, then frowned. 'Why don't I remember what happened next? And why am I not freaking out right now? I feel like I should be,' she thought to herself. 'Wait, ceiling?'

"Excuse me?"

Penny tilted her head to the side, only to see an unfamiliar blonde man, as well as a black-haired girl standing next to him. He let out a sigh when she met his blue eyes, and he said, "Ren, could you dial it back a bit?"

"Sorry," came another undeniably male voice from her other side. As she turned to look at the black-haired boy, and one of the redheads she'd seen earlier, she realized that she was laying on a couch. "I'm used to toning down Nora's emotions. She takes a firm touch, most days."

"Yep!" the redhead next to him cheerfully exclaimed, wrapping one of his arms in a tight hug.

Before she could start thinking about that, the lazy, almost dream-like quality to her thoughts softened, and she felt her fear and worry come raging back up through her. "Wha–... where am I?" Penny squeaked out, looking between the two groups so quickly that her hair whipped against her ears.

"Don't worry, it's okay," the blonde man said soothingly, holding up both hands and showing her his empty palms; a soothing gesture, meant to appeal to a person's instincts more than their rational mind. "My name's Taiyang Xiao Long. Do you know who I am?"

Penny blinked at him for a moment, her growing panic preventing her from remembering why his name seemed familiar to her.

And then fire sparked beneath her hands, catching on to the couch beneath her and swiftly spreading.

"Shit!" Taiyang yelled, thrusting his hands at the couch. For a moment, Penny found it hard to breathe, but the feeling was gone as swiftly as it came.

As were the flames.

"Maybe a touch more, Ren," the girl next to Taiyang said, giving the black-haired boy an awkward, somewhat goofy smile. A bare second after she spoke, Penny felt her fear start to dim down again, though not to the same point it'd been at right as she'd woken up.

"What's happening?" Penny asked, looking over at Ren. She sat up slowly, warily eyeing him. "What are you doing to me?"

"Dampening your emotions," Ren said, giving her a sheepish grimace. "It's what I can do. Like how Nora here can make electricity, or how you can apparently make fire."

"Miss Polendina? Did you recognize my name?" Taiyang repeated, drawing the girl's attention back to him.

"I... I think so," Penny said after a moment of thought. "I think my father mentioned you a couple times before he sent me here."

"Do you know why he sent you?" Taiyang asked.

"To, um..." Penny trailed off for a moment, her eyes narrowed in thought before they widened suddenly and she blushed. "To learn how to control my power. He wanted me to go to you since, uh, that's what you do?"

"Sort of," Taiyang said, smiling at her. "Ren, I think you can let off on her emotions now."

"You sure?" Ren asked.

"Yeah. I don't think she's a flight risk anymore."

"Alright," Ren said, letting out a sigh as he relaxed his grip over Penny's emotions. She swallowed nervously and glanced over at the black-haired teenager, but other than that showed no changes.

"So, Penny," Taiyang said, grabbing her attention again, "I can't actually teach you how to use your pyrokinesis."

"What? Then why-" Penny began, only for Taiyang to cut her off.

"What I can do is provide a safe, wide open space for you to practice in, as well as an aerokinetic to make sure the risk of environmental damage is kept to a minimum," he said, placing a hand on the shoulder of the girl next to him. "This is my daughter, Ruby. Your dad and I pulled some strings to put you in her class at Beacon High."

"Hi," Ruby said brightly, smiling at the bewildered redhead. "I might not be as good at moving air around as my dad or my sister, but I can still put out a few fires if I need to. Don't worry; I'll help you out when I can."

"I'd make a more thorough introduction, but you'll have plenty of time for that later," Taiyang said. "For now, I think we need to go over some of the basics."

"Huh?" Penny asked.

"Control," Taiyang said simply. "Specifically, emotional control. Your powers reacted to your panic, and I bet they'll react to just about any strong emotions. Ren's not in your year, and he's already got his hands full with that one," Taiyang continued, gesturing at Nora, who merely stuck out her tongue at him in response, "so he's not gonna be able to help you out all the time. Plus, since Ruby, and by extension me, can only react to what you've already done, we can't actually stop you from starting fires."

"Oh," Penny said, her shoulders slumping as she slowly began to realize that she hadn't found a quick and easy fix for her problem.

"Now, since a mostly wooden building isn't a good place to start playing with fire," Taiyang said, "how about we go to a place I know? Plenty of abandoned buildings, mostly concrete, to keep people from looking in, and there's almost nothing flammable around."

"Okay," Penny said after a moment, slowly nodding her head.

"Great. You willing to come with us, Ren?" he asked. "I'd appreciate having you around for the first couple sessions."

"Sure," Ren said, shrugging.

"Then I'm coming too!" Nora announced cheerily, bearing a grin so wide that it nearly forced her eyes closed.

"Yeah, that's fine," Taiyang said, rolling his eyes. "You want to come too, Ruby?" he asked, turning his attention to his daughter.

"Uh, well," Ruby began, blushing and grimacing apologetically at Penny, "I kind of already have plans for today, Dad."

"I know. I just wanted to know if you wanted an out," Taiyang said.

"Thanks, but I'll be fine," she said, giving him a smile. "Sorry, Penny," Ruby added, glancing back towards the sitting redhead. "I know we'll probably wind up spending a lot of time together, but, uh, well, um... sorry."

"It's... okay?" Penny said, her voice turning it into a question.

"You need a ride back to the mall?" Taiyang asked Ruby, making her shake her head.

"Nah, I've still got my bus pass," Ruby said, heading to the office door. "I'll introduce you to our class on Monday, Penny, okay?"

"Sure. Thanks."

"Great. Okay, bye everyone!"

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

 _Hey Neo! I'll be back at the mall in a few minutes, okay?_

Neo couldn't help but smile at the text message Ruby had sent her. It came as something of a relief, really, since she, Whitley, and Solon had been dragged into the middle of a discussion between Izzy and Lilith about which of their powers was stronger; she did her best not to sigh as she wrote a quick reply to Ruby, telling her where they were hanging out while they waited.

"I'm telling you, it depends on the context!" Lilith said, rolling her eyes. Her cheeks were still flushed from the last demonstration of her power, which she seemed to refuse in a way that wasn't overly sexual and provocative. "I can trip just about anyone wearing clothes, I can push their weapons aside if their shirts have sleeves, and I can distract just about anyone I want really easily, especially with a body like mine."

Izzy snorted off a laugh, shaking her head. "I can do all of that, too, and without acting like a street whore. One quake and I've probably done all three."

Neo sighed quietly as the two of them continued to argue, her only amusement coming from Solon shaking his head tiredly. She wrote a quick message on her notepad, tapped his shoulder to get his attention, and showed him what she'd written.

 _Are they like this a lot?_

Solon snorted softly as he nodded his head. "Don't know Izzy that well, but Lilith, yeah," he whispered to her. "She's always trying to brag about something."

"Really?" Whitley asked, also in a whisper, though he kept an eye on the two arguing girls. "About what?"

"Anything, really," Solon said with a shrug. "Grades, looks, how 'powerful' her ability is, how many people asked her out in the last week, anything. She's got a really big ego. I bet you've met a few people like that, Whitley."

"Yeah," Whitley said, letting out a sigh. "Too many."

"Speaking of big egos," Solon said, his beard twitching as he smiled, "any word on when Ruby's getting back?"

"What, you missing her already?" Whitley asked, smirking as Solon blushed.

"No, it's just that the movie's supposed to start in like half an hour," Solon said, scowling at the Schnee. "I'm worried she'll miss it. She's the one who got us all out here in the first place; it'd be pretty messed up if she missed out on one of the main reasons we're all here."

Neo snapped her fingers, drawing the boys' attention, then showed them her phone, which was still open to the text that Ruby had sent her.

"Okay, good to know," Solon said, nodding his head.

"Good to know what?"

Neo smirked as Solon and Whitley jumped, nearly falling out of their seats, as Ruby announced herself to them. Judging from the grin Ruby was wearing, she knew exactly what she was doing.

"Yep, it's me," Ruby said, chuckling as she pulled out a chair and plopped herself down on it. "So, why'd you guys choose a café?"

In the otherwise ordinary mall, the Four Suits Café was an oddity, a combination of a coffee shop and occult merchandise store; an odd contrast to the other two coffee shops in the mall, which had merged with bookstores when they'd needed something to attract customers. It held the typical tourist-trap souvenirs, such as rabbits' feet (which weren't even from real rabbits), but it also held some more... specialized goods, like candles that burn different colors in the presence of different kinds of abilities. What's more, the store's owner liked to tell people's fortunes, whenever she got the chance.

"Whitley here was getting curious about how... well, about how things work around here," Solon said, jerking a thumb at the Schnee. "Lilith had the idea to get him an audience with the owner, here, but she doesn't seem to be in right now."

"Yeah, Jess doesn't get much time to do that sort of thing these days," Ruby said, letting out a sigh. "Her brother and his wife tend to be real busy with their work, so she typically has to babysit their kids during the day since they can't afford to pay an actual sitter."

"You know the owner?" Whitley asked, blinking at her, prompting a shrug from her. "Why?"

"It's what my dad does," Ruby said, shrugging again. "He and his partner find people with powers and bring them into the community. They've taken my sister and me with them a bunch of times, mostly when they're dealing with people with kids. Or orphans."

Neo couldn't help but wince at the word "orphan", and tried to hide her discomfort by taking a drink from her cup of coffee, an unholy amalgamation that combined cinnamon, extra cream, and a shot of raspberry. The concoction had its usual effect on her, immediately calming her down with its sweet flavor.

"This was before Dad started taking me along, but back when Jess was new to town, she had a hard time controlling her foresight," Ruby continued, failing to notice Neo's wince. "It made her extremely nervous and unwilling to talk to people. Dad found out about her through a few people and put some effort into finding her. They talked, and he found her a job where she wouldn't be around any individual person for too long: barista. That helped her learn to control her power, and she wound up liking the smell of coffee enough that she decided to open her own shop after she'd saved up enough money. This," Ruby said, gesturing around them, "is what she decided to do with it. Cool, huh?"

Neo nodded as Whitley and Solon murmured their agreement; Lilith and Izzy were still too busy arguing to have even noticed Ruby's appearance, which prompted her to raise an eyebrow at the pair.

"Did I miss something?" Ruby asked, looking between the two of them.

"Nah, they're just arguing about which of them has the better power," Whitley said, letting out a sigh. "They've been at it since you left with your dad earlier."

"Huh," Ruby said, turning to look at him. "So, how're you taking it? It must seem pretty strange to be around so many people like us, right?"

"Yeah," Whitley said, turning his gaze to his coffee. "It's... kind of surreal, really. Like I'm dreaming, almost."

"You'll get used to it," Ruby said, smiling at him. "Just remember: most of us might have powers, but not everyone here does, so it's better to practice in private when you can. A bunch of the non-powered people here know about us, but most out-of-towners have no clue, and we'd like to keep it that way."

"So, while we're on the subject, where's a good place to practice?" Whitley asked.

"Well, you already saw where Nora and Pyrrha like to go," Ruby said. "That part of town has been rundown for a long time. I'm actually pretty sure it's purposely kept like that so that people like us can go there to practice. Other than that, well... for you I'd recommend your own home. Your powers aren't very destructive, so you can practice without much trouble in a confined space. Plus, you've got both your sisters there; they've got your powers, too, so they could give you better advice than anyone else, most likely."

"Huh. Thanks, Ruby."

"No problem."

"So, should we start heading over to the theater?" Solon asked, drawing a nod of agreement from Neo. "Our movie's set to start in like twenty minutes, so..."

"Good call," Whitley said.

"Hey, Lil, Izzy," Solon said, nudging his cousin with his elbow. "Time to go."

"Huh? Oh, thanks, Sol!" Lilith said, turning her attention away from Izzy for a brief moment. "Wait, when'd you get here, Ruby?"

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Summer sighed in relief as she got out of the van. The call had come in (to every team, not just her's) to make their final preparations for the operation; for Summer's team, that meant getting ready to run down a staircase, across a street, and into a warehouse.

"Stretch out your legs before we get the call to move out, Carlos," Summer advised her younger colleague, already moving her legs in a few stretches that she'd learned from her time practicing Capoeira with her daughter. "Getting a cramp could botch the operation."

Carlos gave her a somewhat nervous smile before following her advice, doing a few slow lunges as he said, "I ran track in high school, Detective. I know how important stretching is."

"Good to know."

"Alright, should we go over the plan again?" Ellison asked, drawing an annoyed groan from Butler.

"I think we're good," Summer said, suppressing the urge to chuckle. She checked her pistol as she continued stretching, making sure there was a round in the chamber and that the safety was on, then did the same for the shotgun she'd been issued.

"Would you stop dancing?" Butler asked, giving Summer a halfhearted glare. "You're weirding me out."

"You've never seen a student of Capoeira get ready for a fight before, have you?" Summer asked, grinning at her. It was a wicked sort of grin, more teeth than lip, and it set Carlos on edge.

"You studied Capoeira?" Ellison asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I've learned all sorts of martial arts, Agent," Summer said, turning her grin to him. "More than enough to put together something that works for me."

"Good to know," Ellison grunted, putting an end to the discussion. "Everyone ready?" A series of nods was his answer. "Good. All that's left is the final word."

It took one minute exactly for them to get the go ahead; Summer knew that because she was counting the seconds, psyching herself up for the fight to come. Blood and death had never been something she'd enjoyed; they'd always been the stuff of nightmares to her. Literally, though her dreams had stopped being so ominous once she'd started sharing a bed with her husband. But, she'd learned to deal with it over the years, after a number of fights with gangsters and street level drug dealers, as well as the number of dead bodies she'd seen in her twenty years on the force.

As the radio Ellison wore on his hip barked out the words, the four of them raced down the staircase as swiftly as they could, planting their feet at ground level after only thirty seconds. The street was clear of traffic, which meant they only took a few more seconds to cross it. Then, they were outside the warehouse, thoroughly startling the workers loading up a truck with assorted boxes.

"On the ground, now!" Ellison barked out, his voice harsh and commanding. The workers froze for a second, then started dropping to their knees and pressing themselves to the pavement.

Except for one.

A brown-haired young man, with a pair of elk-like horns and a mesh of tattoos coming up from beneath his brown work shirt, snarled at the mix of agents and cops and moved a hand behind his back as he dove to one side, putting the truck he and the others had been loading between him and them in a blur of speed.

"Shit," Summer hissed out, her voice nearly inaudible as Ellison called out an order to get to cover. Summer followed the order almost instinctively, though she mumbled one more word, just loudly enough for Carlos to hear: "Assassin."

The younger police officer winced, stretching out his arms and flexing his hands around his rifle.

"Assassin" was the term the occult community used to identify people with supernaturally enhanced speed. Most of them could move just as fast as an Olympic sprinter, and there were a few that could actually outclass them. The term came from the fact that their speed also tended to come with generally improved leg strength, letting them jump ten feet high from a stand or kick holes in concrete; give one of them some training with a rifle and they can pick off a target and get out of there before anyone knows what's going on.

What's worse, Summer realized, was the fact that she'd have to deal with him before he got a chance to run wild, so to speak; the DEA agents weren't privy to the occult side of things, as far as she knew, so keeping things believable to their relatively narrow perspective was something she'd need to do to keep her city safe from the government-level scrutiny that would shatter it.

Summer glanced out from behind her cover, quickly scanning the environment. The delivery truck was pretty typical, a single long container attached to the truck itself; while there was plenty of room beneath the container, Summer didn't think that an Assassin would resort to crawling, since it reduced their advantage in mobility. Other than the truck, a palette of plastic containers, and a pair of dumpsters, there was no other cover in the environment. Summer also noted that the more cooperative workers had picked themselves up and started running into the warehouse, which could compromise their operation.

"Butler, Rookie, get your asses inside!" Ellison called out to them. "We need to get this bust started, not work over this guy!"

"Roger that!" Butler replied, ducking out from behind the palette of boxes, only to scramble back into it as a bullet bounced off the concrete a few feet in front of her. "Never mind, looks like I need some cover!"

Summer rose up from behind her position behind a dumpster, braced her shotgun against it, turned off the safety, and aimed beneath the truck's attached container. The sun was slowly drifting down into her vision, but for the moment it was a blessing: the sunlight let her see the Faunus's shadow beneath the truck.

Summer fired, the shotgun pressing painfully into her shoulder even through her vests as the blast rattled her ears. A high-pitched shout came from behind the truck a moment later, the pain taking a moment to catch up to the young man's conscious mind.

"I'll keep him company, sir! You go on ahead" Summer said, darting out from behind the dumpster and keeping herself low to the ground as she ran to the front of the truck. From her new cover, she glanced out to see her allies running into the warehouse after the fleeing workers, leaving her to deal with her opponent.

Who was nowhere to be seen. All that she saw was a small splatter of blood.

"Crap," Summer mumbled, glancing around her. She stood up, racking the shotgun. "Should've expected as much."

Still, though, her target was bleeding. That would start to slow him down, in a minute. For now, though, she still had to fight him, assuming he hadn't legged it the moment he'd been hit.

The truck's headlight shattering as a bullet smacked into it answered Summer's unspoken question: the Assassin had decided to stay and fight.

Summer raised her shotgun at the flash of reflected light she'd seen, only for a dark blur to streak across her vision. She cursed under her breath as she dove to the side, another bullet slamming into the truck making her realize that the young man was using a suppressor, and likely subsonic rounds as well; she couldn't hear the shots he was firing, and was having a much harder time finding him because of it.

Another pair of bullets tore past Summer as she sprinted to the relative safety of the dumpsters, only for a third to slam into her back and knock her off balance. She lost her footing, but managed to dive with the fall somewhat gracefully, coming up on her feet in a stuttering-stepped sprint that had her practically flopping into cover.

Summer panted, the sharp pain in her back and the knowledge that it would have been much worse if not for her bulletproof vest stealing her breath from her.

"Come on, girl, I haven't got all day," the Faunus called out to her. Stupidly, Summer noted; he must've been supplied his gun and ammo by someone else if he was moronic enough to give away his position like that when using a suppressed weapon. "Just give up, and I'll be out of your hair."

"Sure thing," Summer called back, mentally noting his position. "Just tell me what I can do, buddy."

There was a long pause, and then his voice gave him away again, from the exact same position. "Do you really think I'm that stupid, girl?"

In response, Summer stood back up, hefted her shotgun towards the voice, and fired the instant the barrel was clear of her cover.

And then she blinked in surprise as she realized she'd fired at empty air.

"What?" she asked quietly, confused, as she dropped back into cover.

Laughter came next, clearly the same voice, but each individual laugh seemed to come from a different direction. "It's not my Talent, but I've learned some ventriloquism. You like it?"

'Oh, are you kidding me?' Summer thought, gritting her teeth. "YPD!" she shouted, putting as much force as she could into her voice; it was commanding enough to make even her freeze for a brief instant, thanks to years of mothering two empowered daughters. "Put down your weapon and come out with your hands up, or I'll be forced to use lethal force!"

There was a brief pause before she heard his laughter again. "Seriously? You expect me to come out for that?"

Summer couldn't quite pin down how experienced her opponent was. In some ways, he seemed like a skilled hitman, such as by using an almost silent weapon and throwing his voice like a master; in others, he seemed more like a braggart gangbanger who only wanted to show off how "good" he was. He was bleeding, likely significantly, and he still paused to banter.

'Well,' she thought, 'at least that could be to my advantage.'

"You're looking at an obstruction of justice charge, as well as an assault charge, with a deadly weapon and against an officer of the law," Summer explained to him, raising her voice in that commanding tone again. "If you come along peacefully, I'll waive the assault charge and talk the DA into giving you the minimum sentence and fine for the other. You'd be back out in a month, and only down by a few hundred bucks."

There was another pause, and then the Assassin's voice came from another direction, though it sounded just a teensy bit more tired to Summer. "That'd be a pretty sweet deal if I didn't have a good idea of why you were here. Getting implicated in a federal-level drug bust would keep me inside for a decade, if not longer. Thanks, but no thanks!"

A bullet whizzed by Summer's head, ricocheting off the dumpster she was hiding behind, and Summer spun on her heel, firing the instant she saw the Faunus's already moving form. He staggered for a brief moment before continuing on, blood falling from his left leg in three places; Summer's second shot missed, and she cursed under her breath as she started running after him, following the trail of spilled blood as much as his blurring form.

The chase didn't last long: the Assassin was losing too much blood to keep running for long, and Summer was both lightweight and very fit, making her strides more like long jumps than actual steps. She jabbed an elbow into his back as she caught up to him, knocking him to the ground, and swept her foot at his hand as she passed him, knocking his gun from his hand.

She skidded to a stop, nearly overbalancing but managing to stop herself from falling over, and hefted her shotgun at the young man again, noting the fear in his eyes: it was the fear of the young, of someone who was just beginning to understand their own mortality.

"You are under arrest," Summer said bluntly, taking a hand off of her shotgun to pluck a set of handcuffs from her belt. "Stay on the ground and put your hands behind your head."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Well, that could've been better," Ruby said, glancing at the theater as she and her classmates left it.

"I never thought fake blood could look that bad," Lilith said, shaking her head. "I mean, gods above, it looked like they just used straight-up ketchup."

"It did look pretty thick," Izzy agreed.

"At least it had a better story than I thought it would," Solon said. "The whole ritual thing was actually built up beforehand, instead of being crammed in at the end, and the characters acted at least somewhat believably to the scenarios."

"Yeah, I can give it that," Lilith said. "Still, though, I wish it'd had a bigger budget. It could've been a lot better."

"Same," Ruby said, nodding her head.

"Well, I hate to end on such an awkward note, but I think it's time we left for home," Solon said, looking at Lilith.

"Oh, right, they want us home by six," Lilith sighed, pouting at her cousin. "Sorry, guys," she said, giving her other classmates a smile. "Today was a lot of fun, but Sol's right: we've gotta get going."

"I should probably head back, too," Whitley said, grimacing as he put his phone back in his pocket. "Looks like Winter expected me to be back a few minutes ago."

"Oof, that sucks," Ruby said, wincing.

"Yeah," Whitley said with a sigh as he started walking away. "Bye, guys. See you on Monday," he added before breaking into a jog towards the mall's parking lot.

"Bye!" Lilith said as well, waving as she and her cousin walked to the parking lot at a much more sedate pace.

"Well, I've still got some time to kill," Izzy said after they had left. "Think I'll go through a bookstore or two before I head home."

"You want some company?" Ruby asked. "My folks aren't expecting me home 'till seven at the earliest."

Neo nodded her head, flipping to a page in her notepad where the word _same_ had been written hours earlier.

"Sure, that's fine," Izzy said somewhat dismissively before walking off in a seemingly random direction.

Neo and Ruby followed Izzy to a bookstore called The Eldritch Tome, a bookstore which primarily carried fantasy novels, books about mythology, and various game books, as well as a handful of spooky-looking decorations that most stores would only sell around Halloween, if at all. The Tome's bookshelves were made from a dark wood that had been heavily weathered, likely artificially in an attempt to make them look older, and the few bits of furniture scattered around were of a similar make. The walls had been painted a dark green in alternating brushstrokes; the pattern filled Neo with a deep-seated anxiety, which she realized after a moment was because it made her subconsciously think of being lost in a dark forest. All in all, Neo decided, The Eldritch Tome more than lived up to its name.

Izzy split off from them almost the instant they got there, making a beeline to a specific section of the store instant of browsing through all the shelves, but Neo decided to keep somewhat close to Ruby; she tried to rationalize it as wanting to make it easier on herself if an employee tried to help her, which was at least somewhat true, but she knew that she just wanted to keep her classmate in sight for a different reason, one that Whitley had found out almost immediately.

Neo let out a soundless sigh as she looked away from her crush, instead reading the title of the books on the shelf in front of her, hoping that she'd find one that would catch her attention. Minutes passed slowly for her, glancing at Ruby occasionally as she browsed the books she could; she made sure to pay extra attention to the books that Ruby seemed interested in, too, in an attempt to find out a little more about the detectives' daughter.

Almost before she knew it, though, half an hour had gone by, and she'd picked out a few books to buy for herself. Ruby had done the same, and the two of them went to the counter to pay for them, only to bump into Izzy on their way.

The blonde was staring intently, almost aggressively, at a thick hardcover book that didn't have a title. "What's that?" Ruby asked, making Izzy jump.

"Damn it, Ruby," Izzy said, cracking her neck nervously. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Why? What's with this book?" Ruby asked, tilting her head to one side as she looked between Izzy and the book.

"It doesn't have a title," Izzy said, her cheeks reddening as she started explaining. "It got me thinking about some old stories I'd heard. Stuff about cursed books and shit like that. You know, the sorts of things that follow you around no matter how much you try to get rid of them."

"Oh," Ruby said, picking the book off the shelf and opening it to a random page. "It doesn't seem all that bad to me," she added after a moment of flipping through pages. "I think I've read this one before, actually. It might just be a misprint that got shipped out by mistake."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Izzy mumbled, her blush deepening. "I should get headed home," she added after a moment, already walking away.

Neo raised an eyebrow at the blonde. She'd thought that Izzy was the sort of person who didn't get embarrassed, but apparently she did, but only by certain things, like being caught entertaining a somewhat childish fantasy.

Ruby frowned as Izzy left, turning to Neo to timidly ask, "Did I do something wrong?"

Neo gave her a reassuring smile as she pulled out her notepad, flipped to a blank page, and started writing.

 _I think so, but I don't really blame you. That wasn't the sort of thing that anyone could predict, I think._

Ruby bit her lip as she looked away from Neo, in the direction that Izzy had left. "What should I do?"

Neo cocked her head to one side, thinking, then started writing again.

 _Maybe just give her some space? Not bringing it up again yourself might be a good idea, too._

"Okay," Ruby said quietly, still worrying about what she'd done wrong.

It gave Neo another insight into the young woman: she might be blunt and forward at times, but she was also just as anxious and self-conscious as anyone else her age. What's more, she didn't know all that much about interacting with other people, if the way she'd immediately asked Neo, who she'd only known for a week, was any indication.

Neo wrote out another message, then tapped Ruby's shoulder to get her attention.

 _Don't worry about it. I would've asked her too if you hadn't beaten me to it._

Ruby gave Neo a somewhat relieved smile, saying, "Thanks, Neo."

The shorter girl smiled all the way through the two of them paying for their books, walking to the parking lot, and parting ways at the bus stop.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"You made some great progress today, Penny," Taiyang said, praising the panting young woman in front of him.

The two of them, along with Ren and Nora, had gone to an abandoned factory in the Harpy district. With high concrete walls, a narrow entrance, and only a handful of windows too far up to actually be relevant, the chances of the pyromancer's practice being discovered were slim. She'd conjured up more flame than she'd ever done before, and it left her feeling strangely empty, but in a good way.

"Wow, you lasted a lot longer than I did my first time," Nora commented, patting Penny on the back and grinning broadly at her. Penny just gave her a nervous, tired smile, too exhausted to even pull her sweat-drenched hair off of her face.

"I think... I think I went too far," Penny said between pants for breath as she looked at Taiyang. "I feel... weird."

"Yeah, I know that feeling," Nora said. "It feels good the first time, doesn't it? Like a hard workout."

"Alright, I think that's enough for the day," Taiyang said. "You'll probably want to come back here again in a week or so, though."

"I have to do this every week?" Penny asked, her shoulders slumping. "We were here for, for like three hours!"

"Relax, Penny: it won't take that long every time," Taiyang said with a chuckle. "This was to, pardon the pun, burn through all the excess power you've been building up for your entire life. Odds are you did reach an upper limit to how much your body could store at some point, which was why you were having a hard time containing it, but I sincerely doubt you'll build up that much by next week."

"Is that how it is for you?" Penny asked, her breathing under control again, which was baffling to her. Despite the sheer amount of flame she'd wound up conjuring in the warehouse, there was still plenty of oxygen around, and the air barely smelled like smoke at all.

"No, aerokinetics work a bit differently," Taiyang explained, shaking his head. "We're always surrounded by our element, so we just naturally bleed off excess power. We also build it up a lot faster, for the same reason. Oh, that reminds me: until you get better control over your pyrokinesis, you'll want to stay away from open flames when you can. A few minutes probably won't add too much to your power, so you should be fine using a stove or lighting a few candles when you take a bath, but I'd still be careful not to get too close to anything bigger than that."

"Good thing I don't have any candles," Penny mumbled to herself.

"Hey, you're still pretty lucky compared to me," Nora said, pouting at the younger redhead. "I've got to recharge my phone every day, and I need to blow off some steam almost as often because of how much electricity there just _is_ , all around us."

"It's probably part of why she has such strong emotions," Ren said, putting his hand on Nora's shoulder. "You should be aware of that, too. You might start getting mood swings when you're around fires."

"O-okay," Penny said, shivering as she realized just how sweaty she was. It had soaked through her shirt, which was now clinging to her skin.

"Come on, let's get you guys home," Taiyang said, ushering the three teenagers out of the warehouse. "You'll want to have me or one of my daughters with you when you come back here, Penny," he continued as the four of them walked to his car, which was parked two blocks away. "Without one of us filtering the air, practicing with fire in an enclosed space could be dangerous."

"Okay, sir," Penny mumbled.

"Oh, so that's what was happening!" Nora exclaimed, her blue eyes wide. "I was really confused why I could breathe in there!"

That drew a giggle from Penny; despite being disheartened by having needed to move to a new country after learning that she was, in her own words, a "freak", she was happy to know that there were people who cared enough to help her. The fact that everyone she'd met so far in this city had powers as well was going a long way to soothe her as well, though that might have just been Ren's powers.

Either way, Penny was starting to look forward to her first day at Beacon High.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Dinner in the Xiao Long / Rose household that night was a happy affair. Summer had managed to get home even before her husband, claiming that what little paperwork she had left could wait for tomorrow, and Yang had proudly proclaimed that she'd only broken a single drumstick while getting back into playing her instrument of choice. The three ladies pitched in to help Taiyang make dinner once he'd gotten back, with Ruby and Summer only eating a few oven-baked fries apiece before they'd managed to load everything onto the table.

"So, how'd your day go, Taiya?" Summer asked around a bite of her burger, a simple ground turkey patty on a bun loaded high with fresh spinach, as well as slices of onion and tomato.

"Eh, it was alright," Taiyang said, stabbing his fork into a cube of watermelon in a bowl next to his plate. "I managed to drag Ruby away from her classmates a bit to help me with someone new to town, then helped her drain her reserves so she wouldn't have much chance of hurting anyone while she learns some control."

"What's her power?" Summer asked.

"Fire," Ruby said, picking up a fry from the mountain of them on her plate and devouring it in two swift bites.

"Her dad made some arrangements to get her into Ruby's class, so she'll be taking care of her," Taiyang said, grinning at his daughter.

"Following in Dad's footsteps, Rubes?" Yang asked, also grinning at Ruby. "I thought you wanted to take after Mom?"

"Shut up, Yang," Ruby grumbled, blushing as she glared at her sister. That prompted a few chuckles from the table, and the conversation continued from there, everyone telling each other about their days went. Jokes were made, most of which drew groans instead of laughs. It was the sort of family dinner conversation that isn't very interesting to an outside observer, really.

Later on, after everyone had finished eating, Yang and Ruby went to Yang's room to goof off while they killed time before going to bed. Yang had settled down at the chair at her desk, and Ruby sat down on the edge of Yang's bed, which was quite a bit taller than it needed to be, thanks to the overly large bed frame and box spring that the mattress rested on.

"So, how'd things go with you and everyone?" Yang asked pretty much the instant she sat down, making Ruby sigh.

"It went fine, Yang," Ruby said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm just saying, you never really spent any time with kids your own age," Yang said, drawing another sigh from the younger girl. "You mostly hung out with me and Blake. Don't get me wrong, I like having you around, but I guess I'm just curious."

"About what?"

"Why?" Yang asked. When Ruby cocked her head to one side, Yang continued, saying, "Why now? Why them? What's different now that didn't happen before?"

"Oh," Ruby said, shifting in her seat, her brow furrowed as she thought. "I guess... I mean, I always thought most people my age weren't as mature as me," Ruby explained, blushing when Yang smirked at her. "I know how it sounds, but... back when every other girl my age was trying to figure out how to look pretty, I was trying to figure out how many scholarships I'd need to take to go to college for free. When girls my age were trying to get the guys they liked to go out with them, I was learning how to fight and think like a police officer."

"Yeah, I remember that," Yang said, smiling at the memories. "Is that the reason why you stuck to us so much? Because Blake and I didn't care as much about being pretty or looking for someone to be with quite yet?"

"I-I guess, maybe," Ruby said, blushing again. "Plus, you're my sister, and Blake's like our sister, too. I knew I could be myself around you two without feeling like a weirdo because I knew you would still be my family."

"What about Weiss?" Yang asked. "I mean, the two of you get along pretty well. Probably better than I get along with her, given how shy and weird she gets around me."

Ruby smiled faintly at that, but said, "Well, uh, I think she's part of why I could do this. I mean, hang out with my classmates. She made me realize that I could still be myself around people who weren't family and still... be fine, I guess. She doesn't think of me like that, so, uh, I-I mean..." Ruby trailed off, blushing.

"Shut up," Yang said, unable to keep herself from grinning. "You've got a crush on Weiss?"

"Yang!" Ruby whined, seeming to shrink into herself. "I don't have a crush on her!"

"Don't bother lying to me, Rubes: I know all your tells," Yang said, her grin growing wider. "So, what do you think is her best feature, huh?"

"Please stop, Yang," Ruby said quietly, turning her head away from her sister. Yang blinked at her, confused; though Ruby was still blushing, she looked small, subdued. Sad.

"Ruby?" Yang asked, standing up from her chair and moving to sit down next to her on the bed. "What's wrong?"

Ruby just shook her head, still not meeting Yang's eyes. "I..." she began, only to sigh and trail off.

"Hey, you can tell me," Yang said, wrapping an arm around her sister's shoulders. "What's wrong?"

"You know," Ruby said, her voice cracking. "You know that I... and Mom..."

It took Yang a moment to understand. When she did, she tugged Ruby into a deep hug, holding her close as Ruby dipped her head to Yang's shoulder and started to cry, and remembered something that their father had told her two years ago.

 _"The metabolism of a bloodmaker is a double-edged sword," Taiyang had said. "On the one hand, it lets them recover from scrapes and bruises almost as fast as they can get them, and from stuff on the level of a broken bone overnight. Their immune systems are top of the line, too; they don't feel most diseases, and can recover from the rest of them in just a day or two. But, this comes at a cost. You've already seen how much your mom and sister can eat, Yang, but... Summer's doctor told us something else. He said that her cells looked like they belonged to someone seventy years old, not forty-five. He said that... he said that she's not going to make it another ten years, and he doesn't think Ruby will live to be much older."_

Yang closed her eyes as she held her crying sister, keeping her own tears at bay. She had to be strong, no matter how much it hurt. Unfortunately for her, she also remembered another conversation she'd had recently.

 _"I have Lupus," Blake said bluntly, her voice so quiet that Yang thought she'd misheard her._

 _"What?" Yang asked, her mouth suddenly dry._

 _"Lupus," Blake repeated, wiping at her eyes. She flinched when her hands brushed over the half-moon shaped rashes that had grown over her cheeks, letting out a choked-off sound that could have been the beginning of a sob. "I don't... I won't live forever, Yang. If... If there isn't a cure found soon... It'll destroy my liver before I turn thirty."_

She clenched her eyes shut and held her sister tighter, clinging to her for as long as she could.

Yang had to stay strong for the people she loved, until she was old and alone.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Muahahaha! If you could only see your face right now!

But yes, I plan on sticking to my guns about this. Summer's only got like eight years left to live, more if she keeps her stress low and lives a healthy life (not likely to happen for a cop). The odds of her living to see Ruby graduate from college are... well, let's just say that I feed off of your misery and pain and leave it at that.

Mmm, delicious.

There is something else worth noting, though: I've given you all the clues you need to figure out exactly what this story is building towards. You'll get a confirmation at the end of the next chapter, just in case you haven't figured it out yet, but I won't feel the need to give any more hints.

With that said, I think we're done with this chapter! Until next time, everyone!


	4. Chapter 4

Yay! I actually get to say the name of the damn city in this chapter! Hooray!

It'll make a lot of things more obvious, I think. Where this story's going, what'll happen, why I'm writing a high school AU even though I want to write about such intense violence. It'll still take a while to get there, though, so this will still be a crime drama / high school drama / supernatural drama (so dramatic, much wow) that you've been slowly getting used to.

Speaking of crime, though, I realize that the last couple of chapters were more "high school" and less "drug dealers", so we'll be touching on that a bit more this chapter. Velvet gets a couple of scenes, as does Torchwick, and Yang and Blake talk about their work a bit. But that doesn't mean that we don't get some old-fashioned high school drama: Neo asks Ruby out on a date this chapter! Hooray! Given what we learned at the end of 3, though, you might be able to see why that could go poorly.

And yes, this chapter was timed to go up literally days before the launch of RWBY Volume 5. I'm just _nefarious_ enough to do that.

Enjoy!

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Of course," Velvet Scarlatina mumbled to herself, turning slightly as she ran a cloth along the bar she was standing behind, not coincidentally turning away from the pair of already drunk men starting to yell at each other in a language she only understood a few words of. "Not even four p.m., and they're already at it again," she continued to mumble, shaking her head slightly as she saw one of the bar's bouncers walking over with a resigned look in his eyes.

The Diamond-Eyed Sloth was a very particular bar-and-grill that catered mostly to the empowered clientele of the city that it was in, but there were occasionally a few out-of-towners that made their way in, as well. They were typically given extra-strong drinks, sometimes enhanced with something a bit less than legal, to get them out the doors before the regulars could get drunk enough to start slinging around elemental powers. Almost everything, from the bar itself to the broad decorative pillars to the individual tables and seats, was made from relatively cheap segments of light ash wood from the nearby forest and nailed or screwed together; this was a calculated decision on the part of the bar's owner, a man who went by the name Junior, as an angry drunk could cause enough destruction without any additional abilities. If that drunk man could call down lightning or fire with his mind, well... it's just cheaper to prepare for that eventuality.

Velvet sighed and shook her head again, the rabbit-like ears atop her head bouncing and swaying before they straightened and stiffened. Using a talent that she'd refined over years of being an inquisitive child, Velvet focused her hearing toward a corner of the bar, fixing it on the booth where three older men had just been joined by a fourth.

"Now that we're all here," one of the men, his voice an unusually deep baritone, began, "we need to discuss how to move forward."

"Yeesh, Hiraku, let me get something to drink first," another man said, his voice almost feminine. A pair of quick, clacking footsteps approached their table after a moment, and he said, "Hello, beautiful. You mind getting me a Bloody Mary?"

"N-not at all," said a giggly voice that was very familiar to Velvet; she sighed as Cristina, a waitress at the bar, made her way to her.

"Let me guess: Bloody Mary?" Velvet asked, stretching her lips in a smile as she looked up at the outwardly exuberant brunette. Every time she saw her, Velvet's first thought about Cristina was that she was curvy, and the way her breasts strained at the top she was wearing (an odd mix of an overshirt and a corset, the only actual uniform that the waitresses were required to wear) only reinforced that in her mind. Her hair was the dull brown of fresh mud, but her eyes were a bright green that shone with an uncanny intelligence, completely at odds with her appearance and profession.

"Stop listening in on our customers," Cristina said, absolutely none of her apparent cheer appearing in her voice. She let out a sigh as Velvet smiled at her conspiratorially. "It's rude, Vel."

"Yeah, yeah," Velvet said, pouring tomato juice and vodka into a small blender hidden in an alcove beneath the bar. A few different spices followed suit, and Velvet covered it and turned it on, resulting in a nearly inaudible hum that couldn't be heard at all to anyone more than a few feet away from the bar. "You know it's easier for me to just keep track of everyone when they're ordering. It lets them gets their drinks faster, too, which makes them tip better."

"Still rude," Cristina said dryly.

It took only a moment for Velvet to pour the drink and a few ice cubes into a glass and adorn it with a stick of celery, after which Cristina took it back to the table. Velvet giggled as Cristina started giggling and blushing when the feminine-sounding man complimented her again; she was working as a waitress to put herself through acting school, and was making damn good use of what she'd learned so far to coerce some extra tips from her customers.

Still, though, seeing her normally stoic and somewhat depressing coworker act like a flirty schoolgirl was distracting enough that Velvet didn't start listening to that table again for a few moments. Once she realized what she was neglecting, she cursed under her breath and focused her hearing again.

"Why?" the feminine man asked, raising his glass to his lips.

"Because you're a slut, Dmitri," another of the men said, his voice so gravelly that Velvet wondered if he was a chronic smoker. "You'll stuff your dick in anything that wears a skirt."

"Oh, you're exaggerating," the feminine man, Dmitri, scoffed.

"Remember the tree incident?" Hiraku asked, drawing a few chuckles from his other two companions. "Or the boat?"

"I still want to know where you found a skirt big enough to fit on a boat, Hira," their final companion said. Velvet cocked her head to the side as she wiped at the bar with her rag again; his voice was so utterly unremarkable that it actually took her a bit of extra effort to focus on it.

"Don't ask," Hiraku said, letting out a wistful sigh.

"Oh? Is there a story behind it?" the unremarkable man asked.

"Seriously, Souta, you don't want to know," Hiraku said.

The name – Souta – sent a chill up Velvet's spine. Souta the Iceberg was one of Roman Torchwick's few remaining competitors left in the city, and he held his territory with a strength and coldheartedness that gave him his nickname. The fact that he'd come to her bar, while she was working, was nothing short of a miracle. To her, at least.

But, at the same time, it confused her. The familiar way that this Hiraku person was talking to him, and how all of his companions were content to joke around with and around him, made her wonder if it really was the Iceberg, and not just someone else named Souta, despite it not being a common name in Vale.

"So, why'd you call us all here today?" Dmitri asked. "I'm assuming it has something to do with what happened last week?"

Last week, there had been a carefully coordinated series of raids on quite a few buildings, most of which were either warehouses and factories, and nearly all of them belonged to the Iceberg's drug operations. The police and the DEA had both taken part in it, though Velvet had needed to hear that part from Torchwick rather than the news: the station she'd first heard the story from had called out the police for their inaction and unwillingness to cooperate with the DEA, which turned out to be blatantly untrue and made Velvet question why she still listened to that channel.

"Last week was a damn tragedy, but that doesn't mean we can't use it to our advantage," Souta said. "Markos here managed to trace a few of the 'anonymous' tips that the cops and DEA got."

"Weren't they made at pay-phones?" Hiraku asked.

"Yep, but pay-phones are used so infrequently these days that you can usually find out who used them by looking for fingerprints," Souta answered, grinning. "So, we took a few samples, ran them through our worm in the feds' database, and got a damn good match."

"Higurashi Sato," the fourth member of the group, presumably Markos, said. His voice was hard, and carried a trace of an accent that Velvet couldn't place; he stretched the 'r' oddly, and stressed the 'sh' more than a local would've. "One of the Candle's strongmen. Guards his prize chemist."

"And you want us to ice the chemist?" Dmitri asked. "Might be harder than you think, boss."

"Oh, I don't much care about the chemist," Souta said. "But if he's there when you burn his facility to the ground, that's even better."

Velvet's lip twitched as she fought off the urge to smile, instead filing away the information for later. Her boss would want to hear about this.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Fire blossomed explosively in the confined space, blooming into a colossal sphere nearly twenty feet wide before it was suddenly snuffed out by an abrupt absence of air. Smoke filled the space between them until it fell to the ground all at once, as if pressed down by an invisible hand.

Penny panted, closing her eyes to bask in the sudden wave of fresh air that washed the scent of flame from her nose and mouth. "I think..." Penny began, only to take a moment to try to catch her breath before she continued. "I think I'm good for the day."

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked, smiling at the foreigner. Despite how long they'd been practicing for, and the state Penny was in, Ruby didn't look any worse for wear, barring a couple of scorch marks that were only barely noticeable on the sleeves of her black blouse. "We can keep going, if you want."

"No, I'm good," Penny said, still trying to catch her breath.

Neo's eye twitched at the exchange, and she stood up from the plastic folding chair she'd been sitting in at the edge of the abandoned warehouse. She'd practically demanded to come along when she'd heard what Ruby and Penny were planning on doing, even though she'd known she'd be next to useless in helping Penny train.

 _"Just don't take too long before you ask her out, Neo. You might be disappointed if she ends up with some exchange student instead."_

Whitley's words from last week kept bouncing around in her head as she saw Ruby hand Penny a bottle of water, Penny smiling gratefully at the brunette. Neo's hands started to shake as she realized that the Schnee's warning would likely come to pass if she took much longer, but...

Neo swallowed nervously, turning back around and pretending to smooth out the chair and adjust her blouse. 'But I'm not ready for a relationship yet... No. I am ready: I'm just scared,' Neo thought, realizing exactly how she felt.

"Hey, Neo!" Ruby called over to the shorter woman, startling her enough to make her jump. "You about ready to head out?"

Neo turned back around, offering a smile and a nod to Ruby. 'Today,' Neo thought forcefully, swallowing again, her breathing quickening ever so slightly as she picked up her purse. 'Today, after we get Penny back home, I'll ask if she wants to... uh... if she wants to see a movie with me. Just the two of us.'

As Neo rejoined them at the exit, as Ruby opened the door for them, walking out and holding it open, Penny's breath caught in her throat, her knees buckling like a puppet with its strings cut. Neo's eyes widened, and she moved to catch Penny, her hands beneath the redhead's shoulders.

"Penny!" Ruby said, her own eyes going wide. Neo bit her lip, concern showing in her eyes; for the moment, at least, she'd forgotten her worries about her crush. "Are you okay?!"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Penny said, panting again. She was blinking rapidly, her eyes watering. "I think... maybe we overdid it, is all?" she asked, looking between Ruby and Neo with a blush.

"Oh, gods, I'm so sorry!" Ruby exclaimed. "I wasn't thinking! I usually just do this stuff with Dad and Yang, so I didn't realize you'd burn out that quickly!"

"It's okay, Ruby," Penny said, her voice a bit raw, almost like she'd been crying, despite the smile she was wearing. "I'll be fine, I think."

Ruby let out a sigh of relief, still hovering over Penny and Neo like a scared mother. Neo helped Penny back onto her feet, which prompted another smile and a "Thank you" from the redhead; Neo's only reply was a quick nod and a readjustment of their bodies, so that Neo was beneath Penny's left arm, her own right arm wrapped around Penny's back.

"This might not be–" Penny began, only for her to nearly collapse as she tried to step out from Neo's grip. After a moment of catching her breath, Penny said, "Okay, maybe this is necessary."

Neo looked up at Ruby, then directed a pointed glance to Penny's right arm; Ruby got what she wanted to say after a second, and slung Penny's right arm over her shoulders, mirroring what Neo had done. "Don't worry, Penny: we'll get you home safe!" Ruby exclaimed, a bit of forced cheer in her voice.

Penny giggled, only to hiss with exhaustion and pain as the three started moving slowly, starting the nearly quarter-mile journey to the nearest bus stop that would take them back to Penny's apartment.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"You had to know it would end this way," Roman Torchwick said, using his cane to tilt Souta the Iceberg's head up, forcing the fallen man to look at him and not at the unconscious bodies of his three comrades. The two of them stood in a back only a few blocks away from the Diamond-Eyed Sloth; a quick word from Velvet during her break had been all it took to get Torchwick to set up his now former rival.

Souta opened his mouth to speak, but Torchwick jabbed his cane into the Iceberg's throat, causing him to cough and gag instead. "What was that?" he asked playfully. "I didn't quite catch that." The glare he received would've had lesser men quaking in their boots, but all Torchwick saw was the faint flicker of fear and self-preservation that flashed through Souta's eyes for a brief instant. "Now, before you start cursing at me and calling me all sorts of pathetic names," Torchwick said, jabbing his cane into the man's throat again, "I'd like to know who sold you out."

Souta blinked at him, confused. His voice was a harsh, grating croak as he asked, "What?"

"Because I'd rather not make the same mistakes you did," Torchwick continued, practically ignoring his rival drug lord as he withdrew his cane from Souta's throat. "Tell me who did it, and you'll never hear from me again. Unless you decide to do something stupid, like make a move on my territory again."

"How would I know who moved against me?" Souta asked, eyeing the standing man warily. Despite the scuffle that had wound up taking down Souta and incapacitating his three guards, Torchwick hadn't taken a single hit or even gotten a speck of blood or dirt on his suit, a simple black ensemble that went passably well with the bowler's hat atop his head of orange hair.

"Because I know the people in my organization you've been keeping tabs on. I knew I had a mole working for one of the Families, but I wasn't quite sure who it was, so I fed a few people I didn't quite trust a few bits of information. Nothing major, really, just most of the details regarding how your business is handled," Torchwick said, smiling as Souta paled. "Sorry: _was_ handled," Torchwick corrected himself, now outright grinning.

"You bastard," Souta spat, only for Torchwick to slam the end of his cane into his already dislocated shoulder.

"Now, now, didn't we cover this already?" Torchwick asked while Souta bit back a scream. "Tell me who moved against you, and you'll never have to see me again. If you don't, well, you'll still never see me again, but you'll also never see your daughter again."

Souta, who'd doubled over from pain, looked up at Torchwick, fear blazing in his eyes. "What daughter?" he asked, trying and failing to keep his voice from trembling.

"Asha's quite the cutie, isn't she?" Torchwick asked, drawing a picture from the breast pocket of his shirt. "And quite intelligent, too; I wouldn't expect anyone else to earn a doctorate in such a demanding discipline so quickly. Although, that might have just been your influence. Drug money smooths out quite a bit, I'd imagine."

"Wouldn't you know?" Souta asked. Torchwick slammed the end of his cane down on Souta's broken leg, drawing a tight bark of pain from the man.

"I could do this all day," Torchwick said, twisting his cane against the already swelling skin. "But we're both busy people, Souta, so I'd like to hurry this along. Tell me who sold you out."

Souta sat silent for another moment, fear and pain twisting his stomach. "Lara Irons," he finally said, drawing a nod of agreement from Torchwick.

"I thought as much," Torchwick said, withdrawing his cane again.

"Then why bother with me?" Souta asked, wiping his mouth with a hand.

"It gives me a chance to do this," Torchwick said, still smiling, as he struck with his cane again. In mid-swing, the metal of the cane shifted, flowing like water until it was edged like a sword.

Souta's head tumbled to the ground, and there still wasn't a drop of blood on Torchwick's suit.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Yang grunted as she flopped down onto the couch in the small warehouse, covering her eyes with her arm and letting one leg dangle off the side. "Just two more hours," she mumbled to herself. "Just two more hours before the day's over, Yang."

"You've only got six more deliveries to make, Yang," Blake said, not looking up from the stack of papers in front of her. She made a note in the margin with a pencil, then added, "And four of them go to the same place, too."

"I'm on break!" Yang yelled into her elbow, muffling the sound. Blake chuckled, shaking her head, but still didn't look up. After a moment, Yang said, "What are you doing, anyway?"

"You still don't know?" Blake asked. "I'm going over the account books for Torchwick. Making sure that everything's on the level and all that."

"Even thought it's not?" Yang asked, lowering her arm so that she could look at Blake.

"Yep," Blake said, making another note on the paper she was on before moving it to the much larger stack in a plastic bin marked outgoing at the edge of the desk. "That actually makes it more important, since it makes sure people like... well, like our parents won't catch on."

"Yeah," Yang said, swinging her dangling leg. "You ever wonder why we work here?"

"I assumed it was out of a subconscious desire to rebel," Blake said dryly, making Yang chuckle. More seriously, she said, "The money's good, and we can safely lie and say that we weren't complicit to all the details. Assuming our boss isn't caught, it also gives us a great reference to put on our resumes."

"Yeah, but... I feel bad, y'know?" Yang asked, finally getting Blake to look up from her work. "All those drug addicts who could be going to rehab or something, and we're helping supply them."

"You know, anyone but me would think you're wearing a wire right now," Blake said, getting another chuckle out of the blonde. "What brought this on, Yang?"

"Ruby's friends with the boss's niece," Yang said, staring up at the ceiling of the warehouse. "They just... they're so damn innocent to all of this, you know? It kinda makes me wish that I was, too."

"Well, I don't know if this'll make you feel better, but I imagine most of the addicts that we help supply wouldn't go to rehab anyway," Blake said. "They'd just... find someone else. Or die from withdrawal, somewhere that it'd take a long time for anyone to find them."

"Thanks, I feel much better now," Yang said sarcastically.

"At least they're still alive," Blake offered, turning back to her work. "They'll live long enough to have a chance to find someone who can help pull them out of it."

"Unless they OD," Yang mumbled, covering her face again. "Wake me in twenty, okay?"

"Your break's only fifteen minutes long, Yang."

Yang let out a very loud, very fake snore, drawing another chuckle from Blake.

"You keep doing that and I'll draw big dick on your forehead. In permanent marker."

Her only response was another snore.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Ruby let out a relieved sigh as she and Neo left Penny's apartment. The woman she was staying with was a grade ahead of them, and worried about Penny to an almost obsessive degree; it made sense, though, since Penny's father was paying her to take care of his daughter.

Still, Ruby was relieved to not have to take care of the redhead for the moment. So relieved, in fact, that she missed Neo taking a long, deep breath and writing onto her notepad. She also didn't notice Neo growing pale and crossing out what she'd written.

"Well, I thought that would take more of the day," Ruby noted, glancing at the sky. The sun was still a few hours from setting, but the sheer mass of dark storm clouds made it seem much later. "And it looks like it's gonna rain tonight, too."

Neo started writing again, this time catching Ruby's attention. When Neo noticed, she blushed, but kept writing. Her eyes tightly shut, she pushed the notepad towards Ruby, revealing what she'd written.

 _Would you like to go see a movie with me?_

"Sure," Ruby said, shrugging. "Anything in particular?"

Neo opened her eyes and stared at Ruby for a moment, then wrote down more and thrust the pad at Ruby again. She was blushing, biting her lip, and her hands were shaking; Ruby noted all of this before she lowered her eyes to the notepad and paled as she read what Neo had written.

 _As a date._

"I-I, um..." Ruby stammered out, her eyes going wide. Fear threaded through the young brunette, making her hands shake and her whole body feel cold. "I... I... I just remembered I have to go feed Zwei!" she exclaimed, her voice shaking as much as her hands. "Sorry but I gotta go!"

As Ruby turned around and literally started running away, the look on Neo's face etched itself in her mind.

That raw pain and devastation would haunt her thoughts for a long, long time.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"I told you this would happen," a young woman said into her phone. Her shoulder-length green hair was nearly hidden by the hood of her basic black jacket, but her toned, dark brown legs were on display, thanks to the nearly skintight black shorts she was wearing; they didn't even fall to mid-thigh. "The instant we got here, she disappeared."

 _"She won't compromise the operation,"_ the womanly voice on the other end said. _"She knows better than that."_

"I'm not worried about whether or not she knows what she's doing," the young woman said, raising her red eyes to look at the storm clouds darkening the sky. "I'm worried about whether or not she doesn't care. She's too impulsive for something this delicate."

 _"That's not your call, Emerald."_

"Can't you do something about her?"

 _"Not until I get there. And only then if she gives me a reason."_

"You're coming here?" Emerald asked, her back stiffening and her eyes going wide. She bit her lip, anticipation making her smile. "When?"

 _"Tonight."_

"Where are you staying?" Emerald asked, her voice a bit more breathy than she'd intended.

 _"The last time I told you that, you showed up in my hotel room wearing a length of ribbon. And nothing else."_

"Ah, but boss!" Emerald whined. The chuckle she got in reply sent a shiver up her spine. "Please?"

 _"No. We're here to work, Emerald. Make the arrangements with our local contact."_

"Yes, ma'am," Emerald said, still smiling. The call ended, and she slipped her phone into her jacket's pocket just as it started to rain.

"You're such a freak."

The male voice coming from over her shoulder made Emerald react instinctively, twisting on her heels and jamming her elbow into the man's midsection. Well, into where the man's midsection would have been if he hadn't moved away with supernatural speed.

"One of these days I'll hit you with that, Mercury," Emerald warned the chuckling young man, her red eyes narrowed with frustration.

"Looking forward to it," Mercury said, folding his arms behind his head as he smirked at her. His shock of grey hair was done up in an overly spiky style, though it was starting to sag from the falling rain, and his eyes were an even darker shade than his hair. The dark grey shirt he wore was slowly darkening as the rain soaked through it, beginning to match his black slacks and boots.

"Ugh, you're insufferable," Emerald groaned, raising her middle finger at him as she started walking away.

"Says the perv crushing on her boss," Mercury replied, his smirk softening to a grin as he walked beside her. She shot him another glare, but otherwise didn't comment. "You know she's not into you, right?"

"Not yet," she shot back hotly.

"Not ever, most likely," Mercury said, rolling his eyes when Emerald glared at him again. "You should find someone else, probably someone closer to your own age."

"What, like you?" Emerald asked sarcastically.

"Nah, I'm not in for anything long-term. I mean, if you just want a roll in the hay, I'm game, but I know you well enough to know that's not what you're looking for," Mercury said, looking her over as he spoke.

"You're such a jackass," Emerald muttered, making him laugh.

"Doesn't mean I'm wrong."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Kali Belladonna was having a hard time keeping herself from smiling at the worried young woman sitting at her kitchen table. Ruby had gone to her as soon as she'd managed to push down her emotions, looking for advice and hoping that Kali would be able to help her.

It was a rather heartwarming moment for the woman who'd had a hand in raising her, but she knew that Ruby would take her smile the wrong way, and making her think that she found the situation funny was the last thing Kali wanted to do.

Ruby had filled her in, quite frantically, until Kali had presented her with a slice of leftover blackberry pie with multiple scoops of ice cream piled on it, at which point Ruby had started eating just as frantically as she'd been speaking. Kali just stood and watched for a long moment, letting that smile finally play across her lips as she saw that Rose appetite at work yet again; growing up as one of Summer's friends, she'd seen it so often that she'd long since forgotten why other people called their habits disgusting.

"So," Kali began as Ruby kept eating, "one of your new friends wants to get a bit _friendlier_ with you?" she said teasingly, making Ruby sputter and nearly choke on her latest bite.

"Kali!" Ruby whined, coughing around the food in her mouth and throat and making the older woman giggle.

"And this scares you because you think you'll eventually wind up abandoning her?" Kali asked, going from playful to serious in the blink of an eye. "Is that why you've always had trouble making friends your own age?" she added after a moment of thought. "You're scared you'll wind up hurting them because you think you'll die thirty years or so before them?"

Ruby stared at the food in front of her, setting down her fork. "Yeah," she said after a moment, her voice quiet. "I don't want to hurt anyone like that, and if I have to live a lonely life to make sure I don't, then... then that's what I'll do."

"That's one of the silliest things I've heard in a long time," Kali said, smiling down at Ruby. "And, trust me, with some of the excuses Blake comes up with to keep me and Ghira from walking in on her with her laptop on her bed and her pants around her ankles-"

Ruby made a disgusted noise in her throat and picked her fork back up, taking another bite of pie just to give herself something to focus on aside from that mental image.

"Well, you get the idea," Kali said, trailing off with a little laugh. "And that train of thought never stopped Summer from making friends. If anything, she works harder than anyone else to keep in touch with her friends; she still talks to Claudia sometimes, and we haven't seen her since middle school!"

Ruby stared up at Kali for a long moment, then looked back down at her food with a frown.

"Plus, if she hadn't been friends with both of us, Ghira and I probably wouldn't have gotten together, which would mean that Blake wouldn't even exist right now," Kali added, making Ruby roll her shoulders uncomfortably; she had a hard time picturing her life without her in it. "There was a damn good reason I had Summer be my maid of honor at our wedding, after all. Ghira even said he'd have picked her as his best man if I hadn't, though I think he was joking."

Kali sighed, smiling at the memories, before she remembered exactly why Ruby was there and cleared her throat. "Anyway," Kali began, a light blush on her cheeks, "I think you should go to this Neo girl right now and apologize. And, if she still wants to go out with you, tell her everything you just told me. If she still wants to, despite all that, then say yes in a heartbeat!" Kali exclaimed, practically cheering.

Ruby stared at her for a long moment, then sighed. "I... I should definitely say sorry, at least," Ruby said, practically mumbling. "But I don't... not over a text, and she's mute, so she probably won't ans-"

"Wait, she's mute?" Kali asked, cutting Ruby off and frowning at her. At Ruby's nod, she said, "She wouldn't happen to be Neopolitan Torchwick, would she?"

"Huh? You know her?" Ruby asked, bewildered.

"Oh, yeah. Her uncle is a pretty big supporter of the local police," Kali said, nodding her head. "He helps them out with some of their funding issues from time to time, all because he wants a safe place for his niece to live. The big softie," she added, giggling again.

"Can you tell me where they live?" Ruby asked, already grabbing her hoodie and putting it back on.

"Sure thing, sweetie!"

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"I'm fine, really!" Penny exclaimed, practically shouting at the only slightly older woman fussing over her. "Stars and stones, Ciel, stop!"

"There's no need to raise your voice, Miss Polendina," Ciel Soleil said, frowning at her. Ciel was rather dark-skinned, her hair such a dark shade of blue that Penny had thought it was black when they'd first met. Ciel's eyes were a rich shade of blue as well, though much lighter than her hair, and seemed to shine brightly in the recessed lighting of Penny's bathroom, especially compared to her white blouse and blue skirt.

"Then stop, please," Penny repeated, lowering her voice.

Ciel sighed, then bowed her head. "Very well, Miss Polendina. If you believe that you aren't likely to seize again, I will not interfere with you attempting to bathe on your own."

"Thank you," Penny said, her sigh displacing some of the water around her. Her cheeks had reddened significantly when Ciel had walked in, and she was certain that if she'd had even a drop of power left her bath would be boiling right now.

"I'll be just outside, in case you need me," Ciel said, making Penny's eye start twitching. True to her word, though, she left the bathroom, leaving Penny alone to bathe in peace.

Penny sighed deeply the moment the door closed behind her, and lifted a hand up to cover her eyes. Her entire arm was shaking, making the water ripple around her. "Stars and stones," she mumbled under her breath, her breathing too heavy, as if she'd been running. "Why was that so exhausting? Is it just because Ciel is... Ciel? Or..."

She sighed yet again, letting herself slump deeper into the water until it came up to just below her chin. 'Is this all from being empty?' Penny thought, blushing at the way she'd phrased it. 'I thought it would feel good, not having any power left, but this just... sucks.'

Penny had always thought of her power as a burden, always tried to keep a handle over her emotions so she wouldn't be at risk of burning down everything around her. She'd had more than one incident as a child, some of which still brought tears to her eyes as she thought about how badly she'd hurt her family's servants and, in one instance, her father.

She closed her eyes tightly, fighting off the tears that threatened to emerge at that memory, and sat up. She let the pain in her sore body distract her, and sat there for a moment, catching her breath, before she reached for a bottle of body wash to clean herself with.

Still, though, when she got to her left arm, she couldn't help but picture the bandages her father wore to this day.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"I'm surprised you still remember how to play that," Winter said, smiling at Weiss. The younger woman was sitting at the pianoforte Winter had in her apartment, purchased at the behest of their father so that Weiss could continue to grow as a musician. "It's been three years since you last played, if I remember correctly?"

"Since I last played while you were listening," Weiss said, performing a short, fairly simple melody.

"Oh? You're trying to keep it a secret?" Winter asked, not bothering to hide her amusement as she pulled a few things from the kitchen cabinets. "My, my, I didn't know it was that embarrassing, my little sister."

Weiss blushed at Winter's chuckle, accidentally going off-key; she cursed under her breath as Winter's chuckle grew louder, and started the melody over. "I still like to play sometimes, Winter, but I don't want to get dragged into another young musician's concert again. The last one was so... so insufferable! Everyone there was so arrogant, so overly prideful, that I just wanted to get it over with and get back home. And that wasn't even the worst one."

"Ah, yes, I remember," Winter said, frowning. She forced a smile onto her face as she faced Weiss, setting a plastic bag of rice onto the counter. "Nothing makes one of those exercises in pretentiousness worse than an attempt on Father's life. I'm just glad he'd had the foresight to hire a bodyguard."

"That was the one I was too sick to go to, right?" Whitley asked from his seat on the couch, three books and a pair of freshly sharpened pencils sitting on the coffee table in front of him: the first book was filled with photographs of various landscapes, everything from the deserts of Vacuo to a misty forested valley in Mistral; the second was a somewhat small artist's pad that was bound like a book; and the last was a pocket-sized leather-bound journal full of notes he'd made about how to improve his work.

"I think so," Weiss said, barely even paying attention to what she was playing now. "It would explain why I don't remember Amelia being there, either."

"That was the one," Winter said, directing a small smirk at Weiss. "I distinctly remember you being disappointed that our dear maid wasn't there to watch you play, Weiss."

Weiss didn't respond, instead continuing to play with a light blush on her cheeks.

"She was cute," Whitley added, smirking as he noticed Weiss's blush deepen. "I can see why you'd like her, sis."

"Can you?" Weiss muttered, too quietly for either of her siblings to hear.

"So, what're you making, Winter?" Whitley asked, turning back to his sketching practice.

"I've decided to try something a bit more local, so we're having sushi tonight," Winter said, pulling a few things out of the refrigerator.

"Oh, I've had that," Weiss said. "It really depends on how good the fish you use is, but it can be pretty good."

"Isn't that raw fish?" Whitley asked, making a face as he looked up from his work.

"Yes," Weiss said, stifling a giggle at the tone her brother used. "And seaweed."

Whitley just stared at Winter as she held up a sealed bag of seaweed, his face paling. "I'm not sure I'm okay with that," Whitley said, drawing a giggle from Weiss and a chuckle from Winter.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Jaune Arc stifled a sigh, instead pasting a smile on his face as he turned to face Pyrrha. She was smiling as well, a single canvas bag containing the bare few items she'd bought during their day out together. They'd decided to spend the day at the mall, without Nora and Ren at the moment; when the other two decided to spend the entire day out on a date, Pyrrha had wanted to spend some time just hanging out with Jaune, since they rarely got a chance to actually talk to each other without Ren and Nora nearby.

Jaune had a hard time hiding his discomfort at what his inherited ability was telling him: being an empath was quite difficult when your best friend was in love with you.

"Well, at least that's still how I remember it," Jaune said, prompting Pyrrha to raise an eyebrow at him. "You never were much of a shopper, Pyrrha."

"Oh, well, I know how stereotypical it would be to just buy everything I saw, so I try not to," Pyrrha explained, blushing even as her smile broadened. "Even though that sweater was _really_ cute."

Jaune's smile became more genuine as he said, "Well, at least that leaves me something to buy you for your birthday, right?"

Pyrrha laughed, but Jaune winced as someone else's emotions caught his attention. He glanced over at the emotional man, who was arguing with a much calmer man nearly twice his age, and winced again as his utter anger and hatred flowed through his perception.

"Hey," Pyrrha said, putting her hand on his arm and drawing his attention back to her. "I'm right here, okay? Focus on me, not on them."

Jaune closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing his awareness away from the enraged man and onto Pyrrha. Her concern, tinged with joy, love, and hope, surged through his mind, burning the anger from his perception. "Thanks, Pyrrha," Jaune said, keeping his eyes closed as the two of them started to walk away from the two men. He sighed as he felt the beads of sweat forming on his brow, opening his empathy back up to everyone instead of just one person; he found it tiring to focus his ability like that, especially in such a crowded environment.

"Well, at least it helps you out at work, right?" Pyrrha asked, focusing Jaune's attention again on something other than his empathy. "Figuring out who's going to need to get bounced before they actually start a fight or get too drunk is useful there, right?"

"I guess," Jaune said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh, Pyrrha?"

"Yeah?"

"Your hand?"

"Hm?"

"It's still on my arm."

"Ah. I see," Pyrrha said, smiling. She didn't remove her hand from his arm until Jaune gave her a look, at which she chuckled and finally relented. "So, where to next?" Pyrrha asked, still smiling at him.

"Didn't you want to see that new movie? What was it called?" Jaune asked.

"Mass Effect," Pyrrha said, her voice turning almost wistful. "Based off of the first game in the series. I heard the movie didn't turn out very well, so I'm curious to see exactly how bad it is."

"If it turns out to be another Emoji movie, I'm walking," Jaune said dryly, making Pyrrha laugh.

"I don't think it will be _quite_ that bad," Pyrrha said, laughing again at Jaune's sigh.

"Did you already reserve tickets, or should we go get them now?"

"I did not, so we definitely should."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Okay, I'm gonna need you to stop doing that, ma'am," Emerald said, her face noticeably pale.

"We just need you to come with us, okay?" Mercury said, swallowing nervously as the older woman they were speaking to turned to face them.

She wasn't tall, only five and a half feet in her boots, but the sheer strength that practically radiated from her made her seem impossibly massive to the two teenagers. Her black hair was long enough to fall to the backs of her knees, and her skin was extraordinarily pale, almost as white as fresh snow. But it was her eyes that paralyzed them with fear; they were the color of freshly spilled blood, and full of a bored, predatory sort of focused malice. Everything she wore, from her oddly short skirt to her turtleneck sweater to her knee-high boots, was a black so deep that it seemed to swallow the light around her and made her skin seem even paler by comparison.

"Who are you?" the woman asked, her voice utterly calm, save for a mild tinge of annoyance. Despite how inoffensive her tone was, though, it terrified both Emerald and Mercury immensely.

"We, we work for the... for the same people," Emerald said, her voice squeaking and shaking from fear. "We, we're supposed to, to get everyone to... to meet."

"Where and when?" the woman asked, turning her back on the two teenagers. They blinked at her, then turned to each other to share a wordless conversation as the woman raised a set of binoculars and returned to examining the building a block away from the one they were on.

"You... you're not thinking of robbing that bank, are you?" Mercury asked, swallowing again.

"Does it matter?" the woman asked.

"Since our boss said to make sure you didn't draw attention to yourself, yeah, it matters," Mercury said, momentarily regaining some courage, only for it to leave him again as the woman glanced at him irritably. "Look, I know what happened the last time you tried to rob that back-"

"The last time I successfully robbed it," the woman corrected him.

"Right. But, you're still in the top five of the FBI's most wanted," Mercury said. "If you get spotted, by _anyone_ , there will be too much attention in this city for our boss to work it over, okay? So, if you want to keep her from sending a bunch of kill squads after you-"

"If you two are any indication, I doubt that would even be an inconvenience," the woman muttered under her breath; the only reason Mercury managed to hear it was because of the adrenaline singing through his veins.

"If we were her best, I'd slit my own wrists before I went after someone like you," Mercury said, rolling his eyes. "Seriously, please, just... will you come with us to the meeting?"

"I'll be there," the woman said, raising her binoculars to her eyes again and looking back down at the entrance of the bank, three blocks away and more than eighty feet down from the building they were on the roof of.

"That doesn't sound like you're coming with us," Mercury said flatly, ignoring Emerald's utterly terrified stare as it darted between him and the older woman. "The boss asked us to bring you there, ma'am, not to let you come on your own time."

"Your boss should've hired someone else if she wanted a loyal bitch," the woman said, making Emerald pale and Mercury sigh.

"Like us, you mean?" Mercury asked, rolling his eyes as he saw the barest hint of a smile twitch the corner of her mouth. After a moment, he sighed again, pulling a pen and a spare scrap of paper from one of his pockets. "Screw it, fine. Here's where it is," Mercury said, writing down an address and offering it to the woman. As she reached back to take it, not even looking as she grabbed it, he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice, "I look forward to working with you, Miss Branwen."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Ruby swallowed nervously as she knocked on the door of the moderately upscale house where Kali had said Neo and Roman Torchwick lived. She took a few calming breaths as she waited, biting her lip as she heard a sound from just inside the building. Neo opened the door, her eyes puffy and red as she glared at Ruby.

 _What?_ her look clearly asked. Ruby flinched, looking away as she swallowed again.

"Can I... can I come in, Neo?" Ruby asked, her voice practically a whisper. Neo blinked, her glare momentarily softening before it hardened again, and she took a step back from the door, letting her classmate inside. After guiding her to the living room and pointedly glancing at the couch, an exceptionally soft-looking sofa, Neo took a seat in the nearby chair, letting Ruby sit down or stand at her discretion.

 _What is it?_ Neo's glare said as Ruby continued standing, wringing her hands nervously.

"I, um..." Ruby began, closing her eyes and taking a long, deep breath to attempt to calm herself. "I... I wanted you to know that I'm sorry, Neo. I, I ran away after you... after you asked me out, and I need to explain why."

Neo blinked at that, though Ruby didn't see it as her eyes were still tightly shut.

"My... my being a bloodmaker... it lets me heal from any injury pretty much overnight, and I could donate blood every day without getting lightheaded," Ruby began. "But, but it has some downsides. You've seen how much I need to eat, but... but what you don't... I'm dying."

Neo practically bounced off of the chair she was in, her back straightened so quickly. Her mouth dropped open slightly, and her glare vanished, replaced by concern.

"It's not going to... it's not going to happen any time soon," Ruby continued, swallowing again. "I won't... until I'm in my fifties, but... I don't... I don't want to hurt anyone by making them love me." She chuckled humorlessly, shaking her head. "I know, it sounds stupid, but... but I... I know that I'm going to hurt people, and I don't want to."

Ruby flinched as she felt something touch her, but after a moment she realized that Neo had wrapped her arms around her. "Neo?" Ruby asked, opening her eyes. The shorter girl was crying again, silently sobbing with her chin resting on Ruby's shoulder. Ruby tentatively hugged her back, feeling something inside her chest tighten and her own eyes begin to water at Neo's apparent forgiveness.

They stood like that for nearly a full minute before Neo slipped out from the embrace, pulling a notepad - the same one Ruby had given her two weeks ago - from her pocket and shakily scrawling what she wanted to say on it.

 _I forgive you, Ruby._

"Neo," Ruby said, swallowing at the lump in her throat. "Thank you. I... I know that I, uh..." Ruby trailed off, blinking as she saw that Neo was writing again.

 _I have something I should tell you, too. I'm not actually mute._

Ruby blinked, surprised. "What?" she asked, her voice croaking a bit. What Neo wrote next seemed hard for her, tears brimming in her eyes, so Ruby put her hand on Neo's shoulder, drawing her multi-colored eyes to her own silver ones. After a moment, Neo looked back down and began writing again, her hand shaking even more but still continuing. It took quite some time for Neo to finish writing this time, taking up two full pages of the notepad, and when she finally raised it up so Ruby could read it, she kept her gaze on the floor instead of looking at her.

 _When I was seven, my parents and I were in a car accident. A drug dealer was driving the wrong way down the highway to get away from the police and hit our car head-on. My parents died, and a shard of glass from the windshield went into my neck. It's too close to the arteries and my windpipe to get it taken out._

"Neo," Ruby said again, openly crying as she pulled Neo into another hug. Neo let herself be held for a moment, then pulled back again and started writing anew.

 _I'm also 17. It took a year of therapy and learning sign language before my uncle let me go back to school, and I didn't handle it well when I got back, so I was held back again._

Ruby giggled at that, albeit a bit nervously. "Well, that might explain why we get along so well," Ruby mumbled softly, blushing. "I... tend to get along better with people older than me."

Neo giggled softly as well, leaning into Ruby and resting her head against her shoulder again. Ruby wrapped an arm around her, tentatively, and Neo relaxed in her grip, letting out a contented sigh.

"S-so, um..." Ruby began, biting her lip. "We have Wednesday off from school, so... would... would you like to get lunch and... and maybe see a movie with me?" she stammered out, worry and fear apparent in her voice.

Neo smiled. "Yes," she whispered into Ruby's ear, her voice quivering from its lack of use. "I will."

Ruby let out a breath, her worry leaving her with it, and they stood there holding each other for a time. Until Neo left the embrace yet again, blushing as she wrote on her notepad again.

 _I think you should leave before my uncle gets here. I don't think that this would be a good way to introduce our relationship to him, since we haven't gone on a single date yet. And we've both been crying._

"Oh," Ruby said, disappointment apparent on her face. "Well, o-okay then. See you tomorrow, I guess?"

Neo nodded; then, grabbing Ruby's shoulder and pulling her close, she pressed a small, chaste kiss to the younger girl's cheek. Ruby's eyes widened and a blush covered her face, but she smiled broadly at her new girlfriend and mimicked the gesture. Neo leaned into it as Ruby's lips met her own cheek, a small noise escaping from her that made both of them blush further.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then," Ruby said, her grin almost witless as they finally let each other go. Neo showed her to the door, let her out, and then closed the door behind her.

Neo pressed her back to the door and slumped slightly, a light blush and a wide smile on her face as she gazed absentmindedly at the ceiling. A giggle rose from her as an immeasurable amount of pride and joy surged through her, bringing a different sort of tear to her eyes.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"We did everything we could, boss," Mercury said, sweat beading on his forehead as he bowed to the black-haired woman in front of him. Her orange-tinted yellow eyes seemed to burrow into his head, despite the utter amusement they held. "I'm sorry, but Branwen elected to not come with us."

She sighed, smoothing out her gold-trimmed red dress in a controlled display that wiped away the sweat on her palms before her subordinates could notice. "Very well," she said, seemingly disappointed, though she was inwardly relieved; Raven Branwen was one of the few people that actually scared her, though she absolutely refused to let anyone see anything that could be conceivably called a weakness. "I suppose we need to wait for our contact, anyway. This won't make much of a difference."

"I'm glad to hear that, Cinder," Emerald said, her red eyes smoldering with her sheer joy at seeing the older woman again. "If you would like a way to pass the time," she continued, practically purring the words, "then perhaps we could-"

"No," the woman said dismissively. Emerald seemed to deflate, disappointed that she refused her offer again, and this time without even hearing it. "I would like to hear about what you've seen and heard about the city so far."

"Well, I've heard that it's pretty welcoming to most Enhanced," Mercury said, lifting his leg to tap his heel against his knee. "I actually overheard some people talking about an Assassin that got taken in by the police a week ago, and I'm pretty sure they didn't mean a hitman."

"I saw something similar; before I met up with him," Emerald said, glancing disdainfully at Mercury, "I went through this district and saw a couple of girls a bit younger than us practicing with their powers in a warehouse a few blocks away. At least one of them was definitely a pyromancer of some sort, but I didn't stay long enough to see what the other's power was."

"I see," Cinder said, lounging into a plush secondhand chair and crossing her legs. She took a moment to glance around the abandoned factory that they'd gathered in, looking up at the long, thin windows set near the ceiling and wondering how easy it would be to overhear their conversation from them. "That would explain why she always based those recruitment operations within this city, instead of her home," she said quietly to herself, staring at what little she could see of the sky.

"There's something else," Mercury said, drawing Cinder's and Emerald's attention back to him. "During my scouting, I discovered something else. It makes our new ally a bit... less comforting to have around."

"What is it?" Cinder asked, her eyes narrowing slightly as she tilted her head to one side.

"My ex-husband still lives here." Raven Branwen's voice startled the two teenagers, making them both jump and producing a frightened sound from Emerald. She'd entered the building with an astonishing degree of silence, and her presence was enough to make the small hairs on the back of Cinder's neck stand on end.

"For the sake of our operation, I want you to hold off on approaching him for any reason for the time being," Cinder said immediately, her eyes narrowing further. "You'll get your chance eventually, Branwen, but not anytime soon."

"Very well," Raven said, letting out a frustrated sigh. "For the sake of the operation. For now."

"Thank you," Cinder said, resisting the urge to let out a relieved sigh. "Now, then, shall we discuss how to proceed?" Cinder asked, folding her hands in front of her as she leaned forward; it was more of a command than a question, however, and Emerald and Mercury nodded their heads practically out of reflex.

"Isn't there supposed to be a local here?" Raven asked, glancing around lazily, like a well-fed predator.

"Not quite yet, it would seem," Cinder said, more amused than annoyed. "For now, though, we can still discuss the general nature of our plan."

"What's there to discuss?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow. "Remove the Candle from power to allow your Family to take his place. I'm muscle, your brats are scouts, you're the coordinator. Anything I'm missing?"

"Other than my 'brats' being well-trained assassins, you have the gist of it, yes," Cinder said, her eyes narrowing; she intended to make it a lazy, almost seductive look, rather than one born of fear, but wasn't sure if she'd succeeded or not until she noticed Emerald shivering, her eyes glazing over. "But there's quite a bit more to this city than that, Branwen. I assume you know that much, at least." Raven didn't answer, so Cinder continued. "With how many Enhanced individuals live here, any random civilian could be a significant threat to us, so we need to move carefully and quietly. Not quite within your area of expertise, I know."

"You'd be surprised," Raven murmured, a lazy smirk stretching her cheeks. There was something predatory in her eyes, though, that made Emerald snap out of her lustful thoughts about her boss and back a step away from Raven, her fear of the career criminal growing stronger by the second.

"Miss Branwen was a well-accomplished thief for quite some time before she was discovered. I imagine she'd be well-versed in stealth by now," said a newcomer as she entered, wearing a wry smile as she took in the people she'd be working alongside.

"You're late," Cinder said, turning her gaze to the newcomer.

"You're the local?" Mercury asked, folding his arms over his chest as he checked her out.

"Velvet Scarlatina, at your service," the young woman said, her rabbit-like ears bobbing as she bowed dramatically. "Welcome to Yharnam, Miss Fall."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

And thus, my master plan for this story was revealed.

Yes, this is going to be a crossover with Bloodborne. Specifically, the backstory. Through the lens of a high school AU / crime drama, we'll wind up exploring it all, from the discovery of the Pale Blood and the foundation of the Healing Church, to the beginning of the Beast Plague and the fall of Byrgenworth, to the Nightmare's Beginning.

But not quite yet. The Beast Plague won't start until Part 4, and we're still in Part 1 for another few chapters at least.

Speaking of, here's how we'll be proceeding: there will be either six or seven parts, each denoted by a significant time skip (at least six months, but no more than ten years) and each between six and twelve chapters long. Part One is the introductory arc, where the characters and the stakes will be established.

As for specific parallels, there are a couple I'm willing to clarify right now. Carol (the guard at the building where Taiyang's office is located) will eventually change her name to Caryll, as in Runesmith Caryll, who scribes the language of the Great Ones, and Izzy is meant to be Irreverent Izzy, who researches the nature of the beasts and winds up developing a heretical way of harnessing Beasthood while still maintaining her humanity.

Ah, yes, fun times ahead! I've got it all pretty much planned out, though I've still yet to get the details down. Figuring out how certain characters will die will be a fun little challenge for me, and will help satisfy my thirst. Mmm... delicious.

Damn, I'm pretentious in this story. Oh well.

Speaking of stories, though, two things: first, I _have_ been working on the rewrite for Fallout: Remnant. I know I put it on an indefinite hiatus, but I consider that to be more for any new chapters than the rewritten versions of old chapters. I do want to eventually finish it, but, well, that does mean that I'll be working on three fanfictions at once, so I'll be breaking them all into parts, similar to this one, and taking breaks from them so I'm only really working on two at any given time. Compartmentalization is key! I might be able to get the rewritten first chapter up by Friday. I hope so, anyway; I'd rather not have to compete with the first episode of Volume 5 on Saturday.

Secondly, in the previous chapter, I talked about my plans to start a new story, and I've made my decision about it: I'm making the Naruto story. I feel like I'll have an easier handle on making a fantasy story than whatever bizarre science fantasy thing I'd wind up turning a Mass Effect story into. So, if you've got any interest in teenage soldiers who went to therapy the entire time they were being trained, keep an eye out for it.

I hope you've liked this story so far, and that you'll continue to enjoy it going forward! Until next time, everyone!


	5. Chapter 5

What's there to say here? Welcome back? Yeah, I've got pretty much nothing for this spiel. Sorry it took me so long to finish this chapter, but... eh.

Only thing worth noting is that there's an original "song" in this chapter. I don't think I did a great job making it, but I only had to write lyrics for it (hooray for this medium not being audible!) so I decided to just go ahead and do _something_ , rather than nothing at all. Regarding Weiss, Blake, and Yang being in a band, I mean. I do a whole bunch of stuff that could be considered nothing.

In other news, I've finally realized that my characters (in all of my stories, not just this one) tend to blush a lot. I'll be working to correct this going forward, but it seems more natural (to me) that characters would react more emotionally in the earlier parts of the story, since for the most part they aren't the hardened soldiers that some of them will grow up to be. Call it early-installment weirdness if you must, but it feels right to me, especially for this setting in particular. Trust me, they'll be much harder to embarrass once they need to kill monsters on a regular basis.

Anyway...

*deep inhale*

Let's do this! Chapter Five, here we go!

 **XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

The final bell rang out, making Ruby breath a sigh of relief as Professor Goodwitch dismissed the end-of-day study hall. It was an effort to stuff the homework she'd been working on into her backpack, and even more to sling said backpack over her shoulder. Her eyes were blank, unblinking, as she started to wander off, only to be stopped by a hand grabbing her wrist. She turned to look at Neo, who was staring at her worriedly.

Neo moved her hands through a few gestures that Ruby had come to recognize during the last month; the lessons from her college-level course on sign language were sticking with her pretty well, thanks in part to Neo's help.

 _Are you okay?_

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ruby said, rubbing at her face tiredly. "Just... a lot on my plate, I guess."

Neo's frown deepened, and she pulled out a notepad – a new one, since she'd used up the one Ruby had given her when they'd first met. After writing on it for a moment, she turned it to her girlfriend (though they still hesitated to use the word).

 _You need a day off. Are you free this weekend?_

"Not tomorrow," Ruby mumbled, sighing again. "I've got my sign language class at the college, and Mom and I are going to the dojo for another lesson in Krav Maga. And Penny hasn't vented in a week, so I need to help her with that, if she's over her cold tomorrow."

 _Sunday, then_ , Neo signed insistently, forcing a small smile onto her lips. Ruby was starting to look haggard, like she was working herself too hard, and Neo was growing more worried by the day. She knew that it made her seem like a clingy girlfriend, but she desperately wanted to make sure Ruby was okay.

"Everyone else has work, so I need to be home for most of the day to take care of Zwei, but Yang's also got a show that I want to be there to see, so I'll be out for that," Ruby said, shaking her head. "Sorry, Neo."

Neo's eyes hardened a bit, and she sighed, writing on her notepad again.

 _Then I'll be there with you to make sure you don't overdo it. Okay?_

Ruby blinked, somewhat blankly, then giggled and said, "Okay, Neo. I'll see you then."

Neo smiled, shaking her head, and wrote on her notepad again, then placed her hand in Ruby's as she displayed what she'd written.

 _Don't say that yet: we've still got a bus ride before we say goodbye._

Ruby giggled, smiling at her girlfriend as she nodded. They walked out together, still holding hands as they went to the school's bus stop.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"I thought as much," Raven said to herself from her perch atop the school's roof. She was mostly hidden as she watched Ruby and Neo board the bus, paying special attention to the way they held each other's hands and the way they looked at each other.

"You know, if you just wanted me to find out about your daughter's sister's relationship, I could've just asked her," Mercury said, leaning against one of the air conditioning units on top of the school. He was dressed in his uniform, his blazer buttoned most of the way up and his pants free of wrinkles; he thought it was probably the most respectable he'd ever looked, and he was not happy about it. "She and her friends have been pretty welcoming to us 'exchange students', after all."

"No, this is just idle curiosity," Raven said, still watching even as the bus pulled away. "I find it... odd, that he'd go for someone so different from me. It makes me wonder why he was with me in the first place."

"So, why am I here?" Mercury asked with an annoyed sigh. He was still surprised by just how easily he'd become even remotely comfortable around her, feeling no need to mask the emotions that he'd initially felt could piss her off enough to make her want to kill him.

"I need information of a different sort: the updated floor plan for the Yharnam First National," Raven said, turning to stare at him with her predatory red eyes. "And as much as you can gather on the current security system."

"Great," Mercury said, sighing again. "And what am I supposed to tell Cinder when she gets wind that I'm helping you do something you're not supposed to be doing?"

"I don't care," Raven said simply, turning away from him. "Make something up."

He watched her leap from the building, then tracked the form of the raven that had taken flight just after she'd disappeared from his sight, a pang of jealousy in his chest.

"Wish I could just fly away," Mercury mumbled to himself, sighing yet again as he leaned more heavily against the air conditioning unit. "Just get away from everything..." He sighed again, shaking his head. "I should talk to Cinder about this shit, but that'll make Raven want to kill me, probably. But, if I don't talk and she finds out about it, Cinder would probably kill me for pulling this shit." He sighed yet again, shaking his head again. "Ah, hell, I'm fucked no matter what I do."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Of course," Summer said with a sigh, idly whirling a pen in her hand as she slouched in the surplus swivel-mounted chair at her desk. She'd read the email twice already, hoping that she'd just been too tired to read it correctly the first time.

 _Your request for a raise has been accepted, with one condition: you will take a rookie detective as your partner. Detective Santiago has proven himself a capable problem solver in the course of his duties as an Officer, and has shown an aptitude for lateral thinking that is above and beyond what we have seen in many of our other candidates. It is our belief that he would flourish as a detective, given the proper partner to assist him in the beginning of his hopefully long career._

 _Feel free to refuse this request. Of course, if you do, you're likely to wind up partnered with him anyway, without the raise, as we've already offered a similar deal to your current partner, Detective Ghira Belladonna, who seems rather amenable to this request. Your choice._

"Damn it," Summer said, sighing again as her partner returned to his desk; it was wedged up against hers at an angle, so they could see each other's monitors more easily and fit into the main room much more easily. "Hey, Ghira, you get an email?"

"Maybe?" he asked, setting down his cup of coffee before taking his seat. After a moment of typing at his keyboard and fiddling with his mouse, he said, "Huh. I do. One sec."

"If it's anything like mine, we should talk," Summer said, grimacing at her screen as Ghira read the message on his.

"Huh," Ghira grunted as he read, his eyebrows going up. "Let me guess: they're gonna give you a raise if you take a partnership with a rookie detective?"

"Yeah," Summer said, letting out another sigh. "I figure you've got as much of a say on this as I do. We've been partners for the last twenty years, and we're each the godparents for the other's kids. If you want to say no, then –"

"Summer, I'm gonna stop you there," Ghira said, raising a hand up to her. "I know how hard you've been fighting to get a raise for the last two years, and how much you'll need it if Yang wants to start college next year. Besides, I'm in the running for the Chief's position, remember? We wouldn't be able to stay partners if I get the job, anyway, so there's no harm done in doing this now."

"I know, but..." Summer trailed off, shaking her head. "We've been partners since the Academy, and it's... it'd be a big change. For both of us."

"Yep, but we'll be sending our girls off to college before long," Ghira said, offering her a sad smile. "We should try to get used to some change, shouldn't we?"

Summer chuckled, gently biting her cheek as she mulled it over. "Damn it, I'm gonna say yes," Summer said, sighing again as she pulled her keyboard closer to her. "But at least I'm getting someone I already know."

"Really? Who?" Ghira asked; much like Summer, he was already typing a reply to the email he'd received.

"Carlos Santiago," Summer said. "A bit timid, but a strong telekinetic. Should be interesting."

Ghira snorted off a laugh. "Your husband sure likes to make friends in the community, doesn't he? Almost makes me wish my family had something like that."

Summer laughed as well. "What, like a metabolism that tries to eat you? Or being so strong that you spend half your childhood with broken bones?"

"Maybe not like those," Ghira said, grinning slyly at his partner. "But I wouldn't mind being able to fly."

"I wouldn't mind that either," Summer mused, sighing again. "At the very least, I wouldn't have just been standing around and watching when Taiya was teaching Yang and Ruby. Let me tell you, that was terrifying."

"I can only imagine," Ghira said, letting out a sigh of his own. "So, moving on to a different topic: your dad's coming to town soon, isn't he?"

"Well, it is that time of year," Summer said, smiling at him.

"I know it's his granddaughter's birthday and all, but I still don't get why he likes to celebrate Halloween so much," Ghira said. "He celebrates it the way Kali does Christmas."

"If I knew the answer, I'd have told you by now," Summer said, shrugging a shoulder at him. She read over the rough draft of the email she'd written, frowning, and then said, "Hey, you mind looking this over for me? I think it's a bit weak in a couple places."

"No problem."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Before Ruby even realized it, Sunday had come, bringing with it something new for her to worry about. After all, Neo was going to be at her house in less than ten minutes, and it was normal to fret over her girlfriend being in her home for the first time.

It wasn't her only worry, though: her father was still home.

"Something wrong, Ruby?" Taiyang asked, trying _desperately_ to keep his smile from turning into the wide grin he felt like giving her. He'd deliberately delayed the hours he'd been planning on working when he'd heard Ruby's girlfriend was going to be taking care of her today, just so he could meet her.

It was the kind of thing that made Ruby's eye start twitching.

"Dad," Ruby whined, a vibrant blush on her cheeks. "Don't do this to me!"

"Do what, sweetheart?" Taiyang asked, unable to keep himself from chuckling.

"You... you... gah!" Ruby exclaimed, throwing up her arms in frustration, an act that only accomplished making Taiyang laugh. "You know what!" she finally managed to say, her cheeks all-but-literally on fire as she glared at her father.

Before Taiyang could come up with a retort (read: another way to tease his daughter), the doorbell rang, making Ruby squeak, the blush and all other color draining from her face as she looked between it and her father with wide eyes.

"Ooh, I'd better get that," Taiyang said, rising from his seat on the couch and walking to the door with the accelerated pace of an aerokinetic. He answered it with a broad smile, his amusement more coming from the fact that his daughter was still paralyzed by embarrassed fear than the cute young woman at the door who looked surprised to see him. "Hello. I'm guessing you're Neo?"

Neo blinked at him, tilting her head slightly to one side, and looked past him to see Ruby blushing and glaring at her father. She returned her gaze to Taiyang and nodded, frowning as she looked between him and his daughter again.

"Yeah, he's my dad," Ruby said, much to Taiyang's confusion. "I take after my mom."

"You didn't tell me she was a telepath," Taiyang said, prompting another head tilt from Neo.

"She's not," Ruby said, letting out a huff of annoyance. "Can you let her in now, Dad? You're kind of blocking the door."

"Oops, sorry," Taiyang said, smiling at the young woman as he moved out of the way. 'Ah... I didn't think this through,' Taiyang thought when Neo gave him an awkward smile in thanks as she walked by him, all but hurrying to her girlfriend's side to take some measure of comfort in the uncomfortable situation. "So... you're the one dating my daughter, huh?" Taiyang asked, fighting to keep his smile from turning into a grin again as he saw his daughter blush.

"Dad!" Ruby whined, glaring at him again. Neo giggled and nodded, which only made Ruby blush further.

"And I hear that you're here because my daughter's been working herself too hard, and you want to make sure she 'gets some rest'," Taiyang said, waggling his eyebrows mischievously. Neo blushed and shook her head vigorously, while Ruby was so shocked by what Taiyang had said that her mouth hung open; Neo actually had the time to pull out her notepad and write a response before Ruby could regain her wits.

 _Yes, but not like that._

"Dad!" Ruby finally blurted out, her cheeks red enough to make the highlights in her hair seem dull by comparison.

"Ah, don't be like that Ruby," Taiyang said, taking a step to close the distance between them and ruffling her hair. "It's practically mandatory for a father to try to embarrass his daughter in front of her significant other as much as possible. I just happen to enjoy it."

Ruby's eye twitched, but before she could yell at him she saw Neo muffling a giggle out of the corner of her eye; Ruby let out a long-suffering sigh and decided to settle for glaring at her father instead. "Please, just... don't, okay?" Ruby pleaded, drawing a laugh from him.

"Alright, Ruby," Taiyang said, still chuckling. Turning his pleasant smile to Neo, he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Neo."

Neo smiled as well, inclining her head at him. Her eyes darted to Ruby for a second before they returned to Taiyang, and the three of them felt the awkwardness that Ruby had been dreading for nearly two days descend on them.

Introducing your significant other to your family was hard for most people. When the person in question happens to be mute, it tends to be much more awkward.

"I really should have thought this through beyond teasing Ruby," Taiyang noted out loud, making Neo giggle softly and Ruby scowl at him again. "Oh well," he said, smiling at the two young women. "If you two need me, I'll be in the living room," he continued after a moment, scratching the back of his head sheepishly as he returned to the room in question; it was only separated by a short hallway and a doorway that lacked a door, though, so they could very plainly see him sit on the couch he'd been on earlier.

"Thank the gods," Ruby murmured, her shoulders sagging in relief. Neo smiled at her, amused, which made her blush again. "Well, uh... thanks for coming, Neo," Ruby said, chuckling awkwardly as she grabbed Neo's hand and started towards the stairs leading to the second floor.

Neo's smile widened, and she tilted her head to the side as she followed her girlfriend upstairs, glancing pointedly at the room Taiyang was in.

Ruby frowned, only to blush again and shake her head as she thought she understood what Neo meant. "I know, I could have handled that better," Ruby mumbled, half-apologetically, which made Neo giggle. "But, well... imagine if it was your uncle acting like that."

Neo's smile softened a bit, and she inclined her head to Ruby, silently admitting she likely wouldn't have acted much differently. She squeezed Ruby's hand reassuringly, making her smile as well, as the two of them stepped into her room.

"Well, uh... here it is," Ruby said, gesturing around the room with her free hand. Neo raised an eyebrow at just how barren it looked: other than the frilly fringes on the pink-and-white bed sheets and pillowcases, the assortment of dream catchers hanging from the ceiling above her bed, and the underused makeup set sitting next to a small mirror on her dresser, Ruby's bedroom barely looked like a girl's room. A tall bookshelf took up roughly half of one wall, and was more than three-quarters of the way full with paperbacks, many of which bore creases and stretch marks on the spines; though most were works of fiction, everything from sci-fi to urban fantasy, there were a few bits of non-fiction here and there, most notably a book titled _Inside the Mind: Understanding Lucid Dreaming_ , which hadn't been pushed fully back into its place and hung slightly askew from the shelf. "Make yourself at home?" Ruby said, her uncertainty morphing the statement into a question.

Neo smiled again as she looked around the room, her eyes catching on the dream catchers for a long moment. She turned back to Ruby, who was already smiling sadly up at them, and raised an eyebrow at her.

"I wasn't lying when I introduced myself," Ruby said, shifting uncomfortably as she tentatively sat down on the edge of her bed. "I have nightmares pretty much every night. They don't really help as much as I want them to, though," Ruby added with a tired sigh, shaking her head.

 _What does help you?_ Neo signed at her. Ruby blinked and shook her head, not understanding the signs Neo had used, so she repeated them, mouthing the words she was signing at her girlfriend.

"'What does help you'," Ruby said, prompting a nod and a smile from Neo. Ruby smiled herself, only to realize what she'd have to say to answer that question: blushing, she said, "Well, uh, I-I've found that sleeping with someone I... someone I care about can keep me from having them." Neo raised an eyebrow again, so Ruby blushed further and kept talking. "My family used to live in a two-bedroom apartment, and my sister and I had to share a room, so when I had nightmares I'd get into bed with her. I think most kids go into their parents' room when that happens, but I... well, I didn't. My sister was just... right there, and I, uh... yeah."

Neo sat down beside her, placing her hand over her girlfriend's and giving it a comforting squeeze. She leaned her head into the crook of Ruby's neck and let out a contented sigh, making Ruby's cheeks redden further.

"So... uh... what do we do now?" Ruby asked awkwardly, making Neo giggle again.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

'Of course it would be this way,' Mercury thought, sighing internally as he watched the chaos unfold beneath him. Half a dozen police cruisers had appeared within two minutes of his setting off an alarm at Yharnam First National, only for them to realize that there wasn't anything out of the ordinary at the bank. They had begun interviewing the bank's clients the instant they realized that none of the bank's employees had set off the alarm, and their hostile and aggressive attitudes were scaring some of the clients. 'Dirty cops protecting dirty money, just like they always do.'

Mercury let out a sigh, then set down the binoculars he'd been examining the scene with and rubbed at his scalp, trying to reduce the pain of his headache. "I know you're here, Emerald," he said, hearing a muffled squeak come from behind him as he spoke.

"How did you know?" Emerald asked, her annoyed scowl turning into a full-blown glare as she realized that Mercury wasn't going to turn around to look at her.

"Your illusions give me headaches," Mercury said offhandedly, still watching the cops from his vantage point. "How'd you even get up here, anyway?"

By that, he was referring to the under construction building the two of them were perched on the still-incomplete roof of. It was being built by one of Mistral's more well-known chains of hotels, and was one of the first dozen of their attempts to expand their business into Vale, though the contractors they'd hired for their branch in Yharnam were deliberately making up reasons to delay working on it in an attempt to keep too many powerless individuals from finding out about everything that happened in the city. As a result, the elevator the contractors used only functioned about a week out of every month due to them not wanting to bother spending money on the power it would take, and Mercury knew for a fact that it hadn't been working when he'd decided to climb to the top.

"I found a way," Emerald said cryptically, sitting down next to him on the eighth-story scaffolding. "I take it this is your doing."

"Yep. Raven wants me to figure out how she can rob it," Mercury explained, making Emerald sigh. "I know. But look at the bright side: she can't. The response to the silent alarm took less than two minutes."

"Dirty cops?" Emerald asked, watching as the police continued to interview the bank's clients.

"That's what it looks like."

Emerald sighed again, this time in relief. "Thank the gods."

"Yep. Even she wouldn't want to deal with something like this."

"Were you seen?"

"By some kid, but I was wearing a mask and moving fast enough that he couldn't get a good look," Mercury said, shrugging a shoulder. "Odds are the cops won't even interview him, and even if they do all he'd tell them is that he saw a monster."

"Where's your mask now?"

"There," Mercury said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at the bulky latex creation that he'd bought last night. It was designed to resemble a vampire's face, but was so overblown and dramatic that it almost looked more like a troll, and Emerald shivered when she looked at it. "You okay?" Mercury asked, raising an eyebrow at the young woman.

"Yeah, just..." Emerald began, only to shake her head and stand back up. "Never mind. Did you get everything you need here?"

"Not yet," he said, letting out a long sigh as he continued to watch the scene beneath them. "There's a bit more I need to see before I can tell Raven that I did everything I could think of to test the security."

"Is that going to be true?" Emerald asked.

"Nope. Just enough to make me seem competent but inexperienced, like Cinder said."

"You think she'll fall for it."

"Coin toss."

"Huh?"

"Raven's smart enough to get suspicious that something's up, even though I've been doing my best to act lazy and tired around her for the last month. She'll be able to see the 'rational' explanation, that I just didn't really want to do this, and the correct explanation, that I went to our boss behind her back. Two options, fifty percent each. A coin toss."

"I got what you meant by that," Emerald said indignantly, rolling her eyes. "What's your exit plan for if it goes sideways?"

"Run like hell, contact Cinder to tell her what's up, and disappear," Mercury said, almost nonchalantly, making Emerald's eyes widen. "I hear Vacuo's nice this time of year."

Emerald stood there for a moment, just staring down at the steel-haired young man, then kneeled behind him and wrapped her arms around him, startling him. "Good luck," she murmured, her lips nearly brushing his ear. She pressed a kiss to his cheek, then got up and left, flicking her hand to the side and seeming to vanish into thin air.

Mercury waited until his headache subsided before he let out a worried sigh and glanced behind him. "Dead gods below, she's more fucked in the head than I thought," he muttered to himself, shaking his head. "Gonna have to be extra careful around her from now on."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Good morning, ladies!" the rather enthusiastic man greeted Yang, Blake, and Weiss. He was more than six feet tall, but so rotund that he actually looked short from a distance, and kept his thinning grey hair short and trim. The suit he wore looked like something that a character in a comedic work of science fiction would wear to a prom, and Yang actively averted her eyes from the silvery material, instead focusing on the man's flapping jowls and friendly green eyes.

"Good morning, Mr. Victoriano," Yang said, forcing herself to smile at the owner of the Soul of Yharnam, the largest coffee shop slash eatery in the city. The clusters of well-wrought oak tables and chairs it held could seat sixty people, and the handful of large booths could easily add another forty to that, at least. Rarely was the day that it went unfilled, too; despite the modern preference for picking up a to-go order of coffee, many in Yharnam enjoyed the chance to meet their fellow Gifted that the Soul of Yharnam gave them. Despite the sheer bulk of tables and booths that filled the coffee shop, however, there was also a small raised platform along one wall, a variety of instruments placed on it: from two different types of drum sets to a pianoforte, Victoriano was well prepared to receive and accommodate any budding musical talent that caught his ear.

Even now, more than two-thirds of the tables were filled by people eating breakfast sandwiches, nursing cups of coffee, and talking with their neighbors while a local band played their "classical" renditions of rock songs, the piano and violin accompaniments meshing oddly well with the slowed pace their lead singer was reciting the song's lyrics at.

"You're more than an hour early, but I suppose that's to be expected," Victoriano mused, stroking a hand along his wispy beard as he guided the trio of young women through the crowded main hall and into the employee's only section of the store. "It's not every day that you get your first paid performance as musicians, after all."

"About that, sir," Blake said, her blush all but invisible beneath the heavy layer of makeup she wore to hide the rashes on her cheeks. "We, uh, have an original piece to play, in addition to the covers we usually do."

"Oh-ho! Is that so?" Victoriano asked, smiling proudly at them. "I can't say I'm not surprised, though I suppose this was going to happen eventually. Is there anything I should know about the piece? Any profanities, or the like?"

"No, sir. It gets a bit dark in places, but it's more... hopeful, than anything," Blake said, trying to smile and not quite succeeding; Victoriano noticed, but decided not to comment.

"Well, then, I don't see any reason to say no!" Victoriano said, belting out a laugh. "Feel free to place an order if you get hungry or thirsty, though I feel obligated to inform you that you'll have to pay for it yourselves," he added, winking at the young women as he laughed again. "No free lunch around here, after all!"

After saying his piece, Victoriano left, leaving them to wait for their time on stage. Yang shifted uncomfortably the moment he was out of sight, saying, "Okay, I think I agree with you now, Weiss. We should've waited a bit longer before coming here."

Weiss let out a huff and folded her arms over her chest. "Of course you say that _now_ , and not when we were still at Blake's house," she said, rolling her eyes at Yang's sheepish grin. "Well, since we're here, we might as well get an early lunch," she added after a moment, looking back to the entrance to the back area they were in with a slightly anxious expression.

"Uh-oh," Yang said, making an exaggerated face that could only loosely be called a frown. "Did you forget to take your meds this morning, Weiss?"

She blushed, turning her gaze to the floor as she murmured, "Um... maybe?"

Blake chuckled, making Weiss blush further as she reminded her she was there. "How about I do that?" Blake asked, making Yang give her an odd look. "Place the food order, Yang, not take her medicine for her," Blake clarified, rolling her eyes as Yang laughed. "I might as well, since we might all wind up embarrassing ourselves in front of a hundred people because of me."

"Thank you, Miss Belladonna," Weiss said, her voice dripping with both sarcasm and feigned sweetness. "I feel much better now."

Yang laughed again, as did Blake, bringing a smile to Weiss's face. "That's better," Yang said, gingerly wrapping an arm around Weiss's shoulders and ruffling a hand through her hair. "You look much cuter when you smile, Weiss."

Weiss froze, blushing again, and even Blake blinked in surprise, only to then chuckle as she made for the door. "I'll be back in a bit, with tea and sandwiches," Blake said, making Weiss throw her a pleading look, which she responded to with a playful smile before leaving the two of them alone.

Yang chuckled as Blake left, holding Weiss a bit closer to her for a moment before letting her go. "We'll do fine, Weiss," Yang said encouragingly, mistakenly believing that Weiss was shaking from her worry over how much or how little the coffee shop's clientele would like their performance. "People love us, and not just because we're a bunch of pretty young women who cover rock music. They love us because we do it _well_."

Weiss smiled weakly at the blonde, resisting the urge to breathe in the lingering scent she'd left on her. "Y-yeah. Thanks, Yang," Weiss said, only for her smile to falter as she bit her lip and look back at the door. After a moment, she took a deep breath, then looked back at Yang to meet her eyes. "Listen, Yang, I... I have something I want to ask you after... after our set. It's... kind of important," she said, half-mumbling and rushing to get the words out as her cheeks colored yet again.

Yang blinked at her, cocking her head to one side. "We need to talk?" she asked slowly, confusion etching a frown across her face. "About what?"

"It's... not right now," Weiss said, shaking her head. She forced a smile onto her face, trying to be at least somewhat reassuring. "I... it might take a while to, to explain everything, Yang, so I, uh, I'd would wait until after our set. O-okay?" she asked, chewing her lower lip as she watched Yang's face.

"Is it, uh, something that's likely to... annoy me?" Yang asked, wondering if she'd phrased her question correctly when she saw the terrifyingly worried expression on Weiss's face.

"I... I don't think so. Maybe," Weiss said quietly. "I certainly hope not," she added after a moment, forcing a bit of humor into her voice as she smiled again.

"Well, in that case," Yang said teasingly, giving Weiss a hearty grin, "would you mind giving me a hint? Please?" she added, drawing the word out as Weiss blushed harder than ever.

"No!" Weiss said, feeling her lips turn into a genuine smile for the first time since this conversation began. "You'll just have to wait, blondie."

"Aw," Yang pretended to whine, though her chuckle ruined the effect she was going for. "But Weiss!"

And so, the two of them passed the time while waiting for their band's third member to return, a pit of worry slowly growing in Weiss's stomach as she spent what time she could joking and laughing with Yang. For better or for worse, once she confessed to her crush, their friendship would never be the same.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"So, Carlos, how do you like your first real case?" Summer asked, amusement and more than a little sarcasm in her voice as her new partner got onto his knees and stuck his head in a fireplace. "Not quite what you expected, is it?"

Carlos grimaced, glancing over at her before he looked up into the chimney. The two of them were in one of the wealthier neighborhoods in Yharnam, and it showed: they house they were in right now was massive, the furniture and walls almost obsessively clean and fashionable. "Not really," he said, being careful not to inhale the residual soot and smoke-stained dust that coated both the fireplace and the inside of the chimney. "Aren't we Vice detectives?"

"Not a whole lot of certain types of crime here in Yharnam," Summer explained, turning her attention back to the photos she'd been examining. "Any arson cases eventually wind up in Vice's hands anyway, so we don't have that desk. Same with burglaries. Other than Homicide and Traffic, we're the only branch of detectives in the YPD, so I hope you'll get used to getting on your knees and looking up people's chimneys," Summer added, stifling a laugh.

"Remind me again what I'm looking for?" Carlos asked, fighting the urge to throw a scowl at his partner.

"Any signs of entry," Summer said, her tone no longer holding the teasing undertones she'd been using. "Scuff marks, displaced dust, areas where you can see brick and mortar through the soot."

"Yeah, got some of that in here," Carlos said, his eyes already on something a bit more thorough. "How about three long clear spots that trail from the top to the bottom?"

"That sounds like what we're looking for," Summer said, a note of amusement entering her voice again. "Anything there that could help narrow our list of suspects from 'everyone in the world'?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure it wasn't a baby," Carlos drawled, drawing a laugh from his partner. "But anyone that's not morbidly obese could've fit in here, so we'll need a bit more to go on than that."

"You said three of them, right?" Summer asked, drawing an affirmative grunt from Carlos. "Anything distinguishing about the third one?"

"Yeah, actually. The middle line is a bit wider than the other two," Carlos said, frowning at the marks. "Might be our thief had a harder time getting out than getting in?"

"Every victim said that they first noticed something was wrong when they saw their front door was unlocked," Summer reminded him, drawing another grunt. "Maybe it was a Faunus? Any signs of shed fur or scales?"

"Doesn't look like it," he said, withdrawing himself from the fireplace and smacking his uniform's shirt and pants in an attempt to dust himself off. "Everything stolen was pretty low value, right? Only sentimental value, and all that?"

"That's what they said, but who knows with rich types like these guys," Summer said, looking up from the photos she'd been examining. "I mean, look at this," she added, gesturing to one of them, which depicted a ceramic cat statue. "Ginger Wulf – great name, by the way – says that her daughter made it for her fiftieth birthday, but she apparently forgot to mention that her daughter is one of the most well known artists in Cainhurst. She's done commissions for a bunch of movers and shakers in Vale, including the king himself. Odds are this 'worthless trinket' could fetch fifty grand on an open market, even more at a decent auction."

"So we're not discounting someone looking for a quick buck," Carlos said with a sigh, wiping a sleeve across his forehead. He grimaced at the soot that covered his sleeve, then shook his head. "No. It doesn't seem right, does it?"

"Nope," Summer said. She stared at the fireplace for a moment before shaking her head. "You know, if it wasn't still October, I might be willing to say this was some sort of holiday related spree. Guy disguises himself – or herself – as old man Klaus, breaks into peoples' homes if he thinks they've been 'naughty', then makes off with their valuables."

Carlos snorted off a laugh. "Christmas season starts earlier every year," he noted wryly, drawing a chuckle from his partner. "That angle might be worth looking into if we don't have enough for the others."

"Which brings us to the million-dollar question: was it for money, or to make a statement?" Summer asked, waggling a finger dramatically. "Money's the easy answer, but I think we can discount it pretty easily, too."

"Huh?" Carlos asked, frowning at her. "Why?"

"Every victim has had a home security system," Summer pointed out, gesturing back to the door they'd been let in through. "This one's especially sophisticated: even getting in through the chimney would set it off. Which begs the question: how did our thief manage to avoid setting it off?"

Carlos scratched at his cheek with a finger, then tentatively said, "If Mrs. Wolf leaves and then comes back at a specific time regularly enough, the pattern could be noticeable to anyone paying attention for long enough. And the thief wouldn't really need to be dead silent, even with her home."

"You noticed too, huh?" Summer asked, smirking at her partner and getting him to chuckle meekly.

"I think she needs a new hearing aid," Carlos said, trying to be as respectful as possible. "Damn shame, too. Hearing problems like that don't typically start showing up that young."

"Huh," Summer said, looking Carlos over appraisingly. "I didn't expect someone as young as you to refer to someone her age as 'young.'"

He shrugged, not sure whether to take that as praise or not. "Money's not off the table," he said, bringing the discussion back to why they were they. "I hate myself for thinking this, but we should take a look at their housekeeping staffs for criminal histories. If someone's got a record of stealing from their employers, that makes our job a bit easier, right?"

"Only if they're the one who did it," Summer advised warningly, drawing a mildly annoyed look from her new partner.

"I figured that was implied," Carlos said.

Summer chuckled, scratching her cheek sheepishly. "Sorry, Carlos. Don't know you well enough to know that," Summer said. "That'd be a damn good place to start, though. Let's call in, get someone to start making background checks, then take a tour of the pawn shops to see if this stuff's being sold or not."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Have you ever been here before?" Ruby asked Neo with a subdued voice as the two of them waited in the still-growing queue for the Soul of Yharnam. Neo shook her head, prompting Ruby to say, "I like it here. The food's good, and there's almost always a local band playing something. There's usually a wait, though, so I don't come as often as I'd like."

Neo raised an eyebrow at her as a waiter came to the waiting area and guided a group of young men, all in their early twenties, to a recently vacated booth.

"Plus, some friends of mine work here," Ruby added, smiling as she glanced at her again. "You remember the people we met that first weekend? When I needed to find Penny as a favor to my Dad?" she asked, getting a nod from Penny. "Most of them work here. Part-time, of course; they go to school, too."

Neo giggled softly, making Ruby blush.

"A-anyway, um," Ruby said, her cheeks growing even redder as Neo giggled again, "w-we probably won't get our own, uh, our own table here. That's not how it works, here, y'know?" Before she could explain the coffee shop to Neo any further than that statement, mildly worrying the mute teenager, she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Oh, hey Ruby!" Nora exclaimed, walking into the waiting area with a stack of menus tucked under her arm. She was wearing a high-waisted pink skirt with an off-white pattern that vaguely resembled cake frosting, and a jacket that matched; though not technically a uniform, the restaurant's owner often encouraged his employees to wear something similar to it, to the point of adding bonuses to their paychecks when they did. "Party of two?" she asked, glancing between Ruby and Neo curiously.

"Yep," Ruby said, standing up. Neo followed suit, feeling a bit worried about the mildly devious look in Nora's eye. "Nora, you met Neo, right?" Ruby asked.

"Maybe," Nora said, looking the shorter woman over with a critical eye. "I think so? She seems familiar."

"Um, excuse me, ma'am?" another soon-to-be customer asked, raising an eyebrow at the display.

"Oh, sorry, ma'am!" Nora exclaimed, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly as she laughed. "Party of one?"

"No," she said, smiling cautiously at the enthusiasm Nora was displaying, her white hair held back in a bun. "I intend to join my younger brother. He should already be here, I believe."

"Wait a second," Ruby mumbled, staring at the woman. After a moment, she asked, "Hey, you're Weiss's sister, right?"

The white-haired woman glanced at Ruby, frowned for a moment, and then smiled as she realized who she was looking at. "Hello, Miss Rose," Winter Schnee said, inclining her head to Ruby. "It's been a while since we last spoke, I believe."

"Yeah," Ruby said, returning her smile. "Oh, but we should go in," she said, her smile turning bashful as she turned it back to Nora, who giggled.

"Right this way," Nora said, beckoning the three of them to follow her. "Your brother has white hair, right?" she asked Winter as her eyes scanned the crowd.

"Yes," Winter said, glancing around the restaurant as well.

"Ah, there he is!" Nora exclaimed, starting off towards one of the corners, only briefly glancing behind her to see if they were keeping up.

She led them to one of the bulky tables that could seat upwards of twelve people, where Whitley was seated. However, his wasn't the only face that Ruby recognized: Solon were there as well, his cousin Lilith speaking animatedly with a woman Ruby knew as Carol, a security guard who worked at her father's office building.

"Ruby? Neo?" Whitley asked, bewildered, as his sister approached with them in tow. "Oh, right, your sister's in the band, isn't she?" he asked, smiling awkwardly as the three women sat down by him. "I should've guessed you'd be here."

"Ruby?" Carol asked, beaming at her. She was blonde, with green eyes that shone like like light bulbs; often literally, when she was of a mind to exercise her power over light. She had rather pale skin, and she often wore concealing clothes to cover both it and the skinny figure that she was rather self-conscious of; today's outfit consisted of a pleated plaid skirt worn over black tights, a hooded black jacket that she'd zipped up to cover her shirt, and a black beanie, which currently rested on her lap. "Wow, it's been a while, huh? How've you been?"

Ruby chuckled, blushing at the attention. "Things have been good, Carol," she said, favoring the older blonde with a smile in return. "How 'bout you? Still having trouble sleeping?"

"Not for a couple months now," Carol said brightly. "Now I just have trouble waking up, sometimes," she admitted, a light blush settling over her freckled cheeks. "So, who's your friend?" Carol asked, feeling a smirk stretch her lips as she saw Ruby blush. "Ah, so she's that kind of friend, isn't she?" she added, chuckling as Ruby seemed to shrink into her seat.

"Ooh, you two are _together_?" Nora asked teasingly, leaning her arms onto the table now that she'd finished handing out their menus.

"Y-yeah, uh," Ruby stammered, her cheeks reddening even further as Neo's hand wrapped around her own and she saw Whitley shaking with swallowed laughter. "Carol, Nora, uh, Winter, this is Neo, my... my girlfriend. Neo, this is Nora," Ruby gestured meekly to the redheaded waitress, who was grinning at the two of them, "Carol, who works as a guard at the building my dad's company's office is in," she said, gesturing to the blonde in question, "and Winter, Whitley's older sister," she finished, relaxing a bit as she gestured to the much more laid back woman.

"Hello, Neo," Winter said, inclining her head. "I've heard a bit about you from Whitley. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Neo smiled at her a bit awkwardly and raised a hand, making a gesture similar to a wave. Winter nodded understandingly, much to Neo's relief.

"Well, sorry to cut this short, but I am kinda working right now," Nora said, grinning sheepishly at Ruby. "I'll be back in a bit for your orders, okay?"

"That's fine, Nora," Ruby said, laughing under her breath as Nora practically bounced away. As she felt fingers tapping on her arm, she turned to face Neo again, who was staring after Nora with a mildly curious expression. "Yeah, she's... more in touch with her emotions than most," Ruby explained, causing Neo's eyebrows to lift. "Her boyfriend can use his ability to keep her emotions in check, but I don't know if he's working today."

"Yeesh," Carol said, lifting a ceramic cup of coffee to her lips and taking a long drink. "You sure know a lot of people, Rubes."

Ruby laughed sheepishly, scratching at her cheek as she blushed. "Well, it kind of comes with knowing my dad. He's, uh... well, you've met him."

"Ugh," Carol said, visibly shuddering at the mention of Ruby's father; Neo raised an eyebrow at the sight, noting that Carol didn't even try to hide the slight smile that she wore. "I'll always admire how patient you and your sister can be, Ruby. Dealing with him everyday..." Carol shuddered again, making Ruby giggle.

Winter raised an eyebrow at the way Carol was acting, asking, "He's not that bad, is he?"

"Well, he can be a bit... eccentric, I guess," Ruby said, scratching at her cheek.

"One way to put it," Carol grunted, picking up the heavily sweetened mocha-frappechino in front of her and taking a long sip from it.

"Yeah, I didn't get that impression either," Lilith said, cocking her head to one side and staring up at the ceiling as she frowned.

"You met her dad?" Solon asked, making his cousin chuckle and grin sheepishly.

"Well, my parents did," Lilith said. "I think I was there, but it was back when we'd just moved to Yharnum, so I don't really remember it that well."

"That was twelve years ago, right?" Solon asked, drawing a nod from her.

"Yep."

"Well, you don't know what he's like when you have to deal with him on a regular basis," Carol said, rolling her eyes. "Trust me, he can be... a bit much. Especially when it's early and you haven't had any coffee or anything."

"I know the feeling," Winter said, letting out a sigh.

"This is early for her," Whitley chimed in, drawing an annoyed look from his eldest sister. "She typically works nights, so she prefers waking up in the afternoon."

"Yeah, I know what that's like," Carol said, nodding sympathetically at her. "I'm just lucky my boss let me start working during the day after I fell asleep on one of my shifts. Anyone else probably would've fired me."

"Okay, I'm back!" Nora exclaimed as she reappeared at their table, smiling brightly. After setting a glass of water each in front of Ruby, Neo, and Winter, she added, "Sorry for the wait. Are you ready to order?"

Ruby glanced at Neo briefly, getting a nod from her before looking back at Nora with a smile. "I think so. I'll have a tall hot chocolate with cinnamon and extra milk, a tall root beer, and today's house sandwich."

"That's chicken, spinach, and tomato on roasted whole wheat garlic bread," Nora said, her intonation telling Ruby that she'd said it a lot already today, as she wrote down the order.

"Can you add some extra chicken, and maybe some cheese, too?" Ruby asked sweetly.

Nora nodded, jotting down the addition, and said, "That comes with your choice of soup or salad, too."

"Chicken Caesar salad, heavy on the chicken," Ruby said, smiling awkwardly as Nora giggled and nodded. When the redhead turned her gaze to Neo, Ruby did so as well; as the two had agreed on the way there, Neo showed Ruby her own notepad, prompting her girlfriend to say, "She'll have a medium strawberry-banana smoothie, a turkey sandwich with no tomatoes, and a chicken noodle soup as the side."

"Okay?" Nora's tone tilted up at the end, and she raised an eyebrow as Neo looked down at the table, an almost ashamed expression on the mute girl's features, but then she turned to Winter and asked, "And you?"

"Black coffee, medium, with cream and a shot of espresso," Winter said. "And beef minestrone with garlic bread."

"Got it!" Nora said, beaming at the three of them. "I'll be back in just a bit with your drinks, okay?" she said as she walked away, leaving them to return to their conversation.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Everything was getting to be a bit too much for Mercury. Being ordered to do incompatible things by two extraordinarily powerful women and realizing that his longtime partner might have developed feelings for him while still being deeply in "love" with their boss, plus the sudden freedom of being away from Cainhurst for an extended period of time, had managed to fray his nerves significantly. So, he did what he always did whenever things got to be too much.

"Thanks," Mercury said, offering a cocky smile to the store's clerk as she packed his newly bought comic books and graphic novels into a paper bag. Her cheeks reddened, and she accidentally dropped one of the books.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, stooping to pick it up. Mercury's smile turned cocky as he noticed the effect he was having on her, an effect which only became more pronounced as she glanced at him again. She shivered as she put the last of the books into the bag, then gave a shy smile of her own in return. "I'm Carla, by the way," she said, trying and failing to keep herself from giggling as she extended the bag to him.

"Mercury," he said, taking the bag from her. "Say, I know it's sudden, but would you mind if I asked for your number?"

Carla giggled again, her blush and smile both growing deeper. "I think it might be against company policy to do that, but..." she trailed off, grabbing the receipt she'd printed off and hurriedly scribbling her phone number on it. "I can make... make an exception for you, Mercury."

Mercury accepted the receipt from her with a little flourish and a wink, making her giggle again, and said, "Thank you, Carla. It was a pleasure meeting you."

Once back outside, Mercury sighed, running a hand through his hair as he smiled up at the cloudy sky. He started off in a random direction, but not before glancing back at the store he'd come out of to see Carla staring at him through the window. He gave her another wink, which made her blush again and smile awkwardly at him, as he started walking, letting his feet take them wherever they felt like going.

With a bag of new books over his shoulder and the wind brushing against his face, Mercury felt a bit more clearheaded than he had earlier. He was still worried about a variety of things, the worst of which being what Raven's reaction to what he'd found out about the bank might be, but he found it quite a bit easier to deal with right then.

But then he realized exactly where his feet had taken him: deep into the Harpy district, to the front of a mostly intact three-story building. It's weather-worn sign proclaimed it the Elk's Blood Tavern, and, judging from the multitude of motorcycles parked in front of it, Mercury guessed that it was currently the hangout of a local biker gang. Why they had chosen to take over an abandoned bar was beyond him, but he found himself growing curious as he walked past it, glancing over his shoulder at the bare plywood that served as its front door.

When the door burst open, Mercury would have sighed and gotten ready for a fight if not for the bruised and bloody man that came flying out of it. Large of stature, with solid muscle and flabby fat in equal measure, the man's leather jacket and pants were what made Mercury sure he was one of the bikers that likely frequented the former tavern. The man tried to rise onto his feet, only for another biker to land solidly atop him in a similar state, keeping him pinned.

"Huh," Mercury said after a moment, wondering if he should stick around to see who came out the door or if he should leave before he wound up involved somehow. In the end, his curiosity won out, and he found a rather comfortable wall to lean against as he watched the door.

It took only a minute for the fight within to come to an end, and Mercury couldn't help but sigh despondently as he saw the person who'd caused it.

Raven Branwen narrowed her eyes at him, still holding one of the bikers by the throat, and started towards him, tossing the biker to one side in an almost lazy gesture. The biker's head collided with a wall hard enough to put a crack in the concrete, then slumped to the ground, her head dragging along the wall and slowing her fall as it left a bloody streak.

"You have something for me," Raven said. Despite the violence that she'd obviously been through, there wasn't a mark on her, nor were her clothes disheveled.

"Yeah," Mercury said, fighting the urge to sigh again. "The bank you want to hit? Its silent alarm gets a police response in less than two minutes. Most likely dirty cops guarding their take. I don't think you'll be able to do it the way you want."

"We'll see," Raven said.

"Mind if I ask what you were doing in there?" Mercury asked, gesturing lazily to the former tavern.

"Recruiting," she said, looking disdainfully back at the building. "Or attempting to. There wasn't anyone worth taking on."

"I know it's not in my best interests," Mercury began tiredly, practically sighing out the words, "but I feel obligated to remind you that you should keep a low profile while you're working for our boss. You're a bit notorious to be doing stuff like this."

Raven just grunted and walked away, throwing one last disdainful glance at the bar as she left.

Once she was gone, Mercury sighed and sagged in relief, turning to go in the opposite direction. He didn't much care that it was the way he'd just come: he just wanted to get as far away from her as possible.

But then a low groan caught his attention, and he turned his gaze back to the Elk's Blood. Curiosity welled within him once more, and he sighed again, setting his bag of books down in a somewhat concealed place before he started towards the door.

The inside of the tavern was pretty much what he'd expected: blood, splintered wooden tables and chairs, metal pipes and such exposed where bits of the walls had fallen away. There were at least a dozen bodies, too, either dead or unconscious; he didn't know and didn't really care to find out, but he still took pains to not leave his fingerprints on anything or even step in the dustier spots on the floor.

It was when he heard a cough that Mercury found out who, exactly, had been left conscious after Raven's assault on the biker gang's hangout. A young woman with silky black hair and dark brown skin, wearing a brown leather jacket and black denim jeans. He couldn't tell how tall she was, slumped against the bar as she was, but guessed that she was likely a couple inches taller than him, at least.

"Hey," Mercury said, walking over and kneeling in front of her. "You okay?"

The woman coughed again, then looked up at him groggily, her dark green eyes unfocused. "What?" she asked; she was obviously confused, and likely concussed as well, but there was a hardiness to her voice that made Mercury think she'd wind up recovering. "Who are you?"

"I'll give you your name if you give me yours," he said, shrugging a shoulder.

She laughed, a harsh, raspy chuckle that set Mercury's teeth on edge and made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "Limbani," she said, laughing again after a moment. "Just call me Limb."

"Alright, Limb," Mercury said, his amusement at her choice of nickname undeniable. "Name's Mercury. Now, you want to go to a hospital, or is there somewhere else you'd like to go instead?"

She laughed again, this time a bit less harshly, as her eyes focused on him. "This isn't your first time doing this shit, is it?"

"Never been in this exact scenario before, but I know how it goes."

"Well, I do have a guy I know. Owes me a favor. Might need a hand getting there, though. You know where I can find one of those?" Limbani asked, smirking at Mercury. She'd evidently recovered from whatever affliction had been addling her, he noted as he found himself returning it.

"Maybe I do," Mercury said, drawing another laugh from her.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

 _"Carry on my wayward son!_

 _"There'll be peace when you are done!_

 _"Lay your weary head to rest!_

 _"Don't you cry, don't you cry no more!_

 _"No more."_

Scattered applause lit through the nearly full restaurant as Weiss finished singing, the musical accompaniment provided by Blake and Yang rolling to a stop as well. Her heart was hammering in her chest, which she found a bit troubling. This wasn't the first time she'd performed this song for an audience; it wasn't even the first time she'd performed it at the Soul of Yharnum, and it had been completely full the last time. It took her looking behind her, to see the satisfied smiles of her bandmates, to made her realize exactly why she was feeling so anxious, despite the medication she'd taken earlier.

As the set was coming to a close, the time to confess her crush to Yang was drawing closer.

Blake seemed to sense what was going through her mind, as her smile turned reassuring and she gave the nervous young woman a serious nod. Weiss smiled back at her, at once grateful to the Faunus and annoyed with herself. The song Blake had written, which she'd urged both Weiss and Yang to do their best to learn... it made Weiss feel for her.

"Alright," Weiss said, turning back to face the audience. "We've got one last song for you today, so bear with us just a bit longer, okay?" she asked, drawing a couple of laughs and more than a few rolled eyes from the coffee shop's patrons. She paused, blinking, nervous tension rolling into her once more as she noticed for the first time that her siblings, as well as her brother's friends, were in attendance, including Ruby. "It's, uh... It's an original piece by Blake Belladonna," Weiss continued, only barely keeping herself from stumbling over her words by starting her sentence over. A glance over at Blake showed her that she was wearing a rather calm expression, which told Weiss that she likely hadn't noticed Ruby in the crowd; Weiss couldn't help but swallow, worry for how the younger woman would feel about her godparents' daughter's song and all that it would imply making her tense up again. "Blake?" Weiss asked, tilting her head to the Faunus.

Blake nodded at her, then took a step forward as Weiss took one back, the motion as practiced as the rest of their performance.

But it was Yang who started, pounding the drums in front of her in a carefully measured rhythm that slowed after a few moments. In the crowd, Whitley blinked as he bit into his sandwich, looking up at the stage in surprise: when the beat had slowed, he'd felt the beat of his heart slow along with it.

After another few moments of just Yang playing the drums, Weiss started in on her bass, the humming melody coming from it tinged with her anxiety and worry. Mostly intentionally, though there was an edge to it that made Yang glance at her for a second.

When Blake began singing into the microphone standing in front of her, her guitar untouched for the moment, she had the attention of everyone willing to give it.

 _"Where is the Autumn breeze?_  
 _Where is the Winter snow?_  
 _Where is that Spring-born rain?_  
 _Where did the Summer go?_

 _In this night I stay,_  
 _With nothing I can do but pray._  
 _Looking for the light_  
 _That can lead me from these seasons finite."_

Blake gave a single mournful strum of her guitar, bleeding out emotions that she'd long since come to terms with, then both she and Weiss began to play a melody that was more in line with their previous performances: hard, fast, and rough.

 _"In Autumn days,_  
 _There's only shame_  
 _When blood seeps in_  
 _And steals your name._  
 _When all that's left_  
 _Is pain and sin,_  
 _There's nothing left that we can do_  
 _But try and love again."_

Yang picked up the pace as well, building up to a more frantic pace that set their audience's hearts racing, thanks to the trick she'd used to match it to them in the first place. She was so focused on her playing, and Blake on her singing, that they didn't even see Ruby in the audience – much less that tears were building in her eyes.

 _"Suffering and sin,_  
 _We won't let you in._  
 _Our hearts can live without you!_  
 _Diamond strong,_  
 _Our love's not wrong,_  
 _And there's nothing you can say or do!_

 _When the sky starts falling down,_  
 _And rain flies from the ground,_  
 _Everyone will die,_  
 _But that doesn't mean we cannot try to live our lives."_

Their melodies slowed, back to the resonant hum and beat that they'd used earlier, though Yang's drum work was a bit harder than before.

 _"When Winter comes,_  
 _We hear the drums_  
 _Of an age that used to rule our minds._  
 _The Feral ways_  
 _We won't obey,_  
 _Unless we try to give up on our lives._

 _To keep out the endless cold,_  
 _We steal our hearts away,_  
 _Not realizing they were all we had to give!_  
 _To keep our dying flames,_  
 _The embers that bear our names,_  
 _We need to keep strong and try to live!"_

Music swelled into a crescendo once more, as Blake repeated the chorus, her voice mirrored by Weiss's this time around.

 _"Suffering and sin,_  
 _We won't let you in._  
 _Our hearts can live without you!_  
 _Diamond strong,_  
 _Our love's not wrong,_  
 _And there's nothing you can say or do!_

 _When the sky starts falling down,_  
 _And rain flies from the ground,_  
 _Everyone will die,_  
 _But that doesn't mean we cannot try to live our lives."_

Yang slowed her pulsing beat again, though this time both Blake and Weiss continued their more frantic pace. The two competing rhythms ground against them, grating on their nerves until they were looking around anxiously.

 _"When Spring does come,_  
 _Our hopes begin to come alive._  
 _To face the sun,_  
 _Our hearts have come give us back our lives._  
 _Warmth shall flow,_  
 _Like undertow,_  
 _And love will free us from those times."_

Weiss bit her lip as she watched Ruby leave, wiping her face with a sleeve as she headed towards the restaurant's restrooms. She couldn't help but feel a bit mad at Blake, and even at Yang, for not realizing how this sort of song would affect the younger woman struggling with both her own mortality and that of her loved ones'. Weiss's lips did twitch in an attempt at a smile when she saw the brunette that had been sitting beside her follow Ruby after a moment, though she didn't quite smile.

 _"Then Summer brings_  
 _A hope-filled peace,_  
 _And there's nothing left to look forward to._  
 _The love and peace_  
 _Have set us free,_  
 _Only for Autumn to again become our foe!_

 _In this night I stay,_  
 _With nothing I can do but pray._  
 _Looking for the light_  
 _That can lead us from these seasons finite!"_

The three women slowed the rhythms they were playing at into long, mournful notes. Blake took a long, deep breath, shifting her jaw, as she began to repeat the chorus again. Yang and Weiss slowed their melodies further as Blake repeated it a second time, ending them entirely right as the Faunus finished, leaving her to play her sorrowful melody on her own for the last stanza.

 _"In this night I stay,_  
 _With nothing I can do but pray._  
 _Looking for the light_  
 _That can lead me from these seasons finite."_

A bit more than half of the coffee shop's patrons broke into applause as the song came to a close, and there were even a couple of scattered cheers and whistles, though the only person Weiss saw cheering looked really self-conscious about it.

"Thank you, everyone!" Weiss said after a moment, her cheeks flushing as she smiled at the crowd. "Enjoy your meals, and remember to tip the waitstaff!"

With that said, she and her two bandmates left the stage through a door set into the back wall, going back to the "employees only" section of the coffee shop. Weiss sighed in relief the moment the door closed, rolling her neck around to try to relieve some of the tension that had built up in it over the course of their set.

"Well, that was... whew," Blake said with a sigh of her own, a small smile on her face as she looked down at the floor. Yang chuckled and gingerly wrapped an arm around her, making the Faunus let out a cat-like mewl in surprise. "Wha– Yang?"

"I'm proud of you, Blake," Yang said, grinning at her. "I don't think I could have done something like this. Writing a song about one of your biggest fears, and then performing it in front of, like, a hundred people? Holy damn, Blake, that's impressive."

"What's impressive," Weiss said, feeling her earlier anger returning as the two of them looked at her, "is how neither of you seem to realize that Ruby was here for that."

"What?!" Yang yelped, wide-eyed. "H... how long was she...?"

"She left halfway through our last song," Weiss said, watching Yang's face pale; Blake's would have too, if not for her makeup. "I'm pretty sure she was crying."

"Oh shit," Yang mumbled, biting her lip. "I've got to... where'd she go?"

"I think the bathroom," Weiss said. Yang nodded at her gratefully and then ran off, going to find her sister.

"Shit," Blake murmured, blinking blankly at empty air. "I didn't... I didn't even _think_ of how something like that could hurt her. What is _wrong_ with me?" Blake hissed, clenching her fists tightly enough to hurt.

"Blake," Weiss said sternly, getting her attention again. "Stop right there. She has her own demons to face, just like you did – just like we all do, okay? This was part of you coming to terms with yours, right?" Blake swallowed and nodded meekly, making Weiss realize how hard she was being. Softening her tone slightly, she continued, saying, "Then help her with hers, okay? I know that you didn't come to this out of nowhere: writing a song takes longer than most people might think, especially when they're this close to you, but I've been through this a few times myself." Weiss took a deep breath, taking the edge off the wild surge of emotions that were welling within her, in spite of – or perhaps because of – the medication she'd taken earlier. "Talk to Ruby. Make sure she understands why you did this, and try to help her through her own issues, okay? I think you owe her that, as her... as her family."

If Blake hadn't been so distraught, she would have heard the touch of jealousy in Weiss's voice. But she didn't, so all she could say was, "Thank you, Weiss. I... Fuck, I'll figure something out." She shook her head, the cat-like ears parting her hair pressed nearly flat atop her head.

"Feel free to ask if you need advice," Weiss offered, feeling meek herself after her sudden lecture. "I..." She sighed, unable to say anything further.

"I know, Weiss," Blake said, pulling the white-haired girl into a tentative hug. She chuckled as Weiss returned it just as tentatively, and said, "I know how you feel about them. About her."

Weiss blushed brightly, closing her eyes as she fought to keep herself from crying. "Too much," she mumbled, forcibly breaking the hug. "Too much," she repeated, blinking away the tears forming in her eyes.

Blake chuckled weakly, smiling softly at the emotionally overwhelmed woman slowly walking away. "Thank you, Weiss," Blake called to her, which only made her walk faster.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"– and then I brought her to this guy she knows who has a talent for healing," Mercury said, wrapping up his report to Cinder. "Guy's a recluse, but he's apparently related to her... somehow. I lost track after she said 'third cousin's step-uncle'. I left her with him, dropped off what I'd bought at my apartment, and then came here."

Cinder nodded her head, stroking her chin contemplatively. "Thank you for relaying this, Mercury," Cinder said, nodding her head slowly at him. "It will be helpful going forward."

"As I said, I imagine most of Limb's fellows are dead," Mercury continued. "I believe she might be worth taking in if we wind up needing to deal with Raven in a more final manner."

"In what sense?" Cinder asked, a somewhat sultry smile settling on her lips. "From what you said, she doesn't likely have anything more than some form of healing factor. I do not believe that she would be able to contribute meaningfully in a confrontation with Branwen."

"In the sense that giving her a good shotgun with a drum magazine would be able to at least slow Raven down long enough for someone to stick a knife in her ear," Mercury explained plainly. "Her healing factor might not be enough to keep her alive if it's not enough, but she's not part of the family and has a credible reason to get revenge, so if it winds up falling through or the boss decides that it's not worth doing, we can convince her that Limb was acting alone."

"Interesting," Cinder murmured, her voice practically a purr. "You've thought this through."

"Well, when you're trying to balance something as volatile as the mood of a sociopathic Goliath, it's a good idea to think in a few directions when possible," Mercury said. After a moment, he realized he was smirking, and schooled his features to something more neutral, which prompted a throaty laugh from his boss. "Say, boss, change of subject, but... I've got a question."

"Oh?"

"I've been on this side for long enough to know a front when I see one, so I've gotta ask: why the whole 'sexy villain' routine?" Mercury asked plainly, drawing another laugh from Cinder.

"The same reason you act like a cocky little bastard," she said, still maintaining the sensuality in her voice and posture. "It encourages people to underestimate me, which in turn increases my chance of surviving our endeavors. Especially in a city like this."

"Then why in private? Why keep it up when you know the only people around know otherwise?"

"Habit, mostly," Cinder admitted, her smile turning into something more genuine for a brief moment. "By forcing myself to adopt this persona as my default, I can maintain it even in times of high stress or emotion. Since I've specifically chosen one more suited for thwarting a lost battle at the absolute last moment, by appealing to a 'hero's' sense of 'good and right', I find it necessary to continually practice it and ensure that I won't let it slip during the stressful environment that I chose it for."

"Huh. In that case, I've got another, somewhat related question."

"I encourage her romantic attachment because it makes her a more willing servant," Cinder said, shrugging a shoulder. "I assumed you knew that."

"I was going to ask for advice on how to improve my persona and keep it from becoming the real me," Mercury said dryly, making Cinder chuckle sensually, "but that's good to know too, I suppose."

"Very well, Mercury. But not today," Cinder said, drawing a nod from her subordinate. "I have much left to do before I can afford the time that would take. For what little it's worth, you have my apologies that we cannot begin immediately."

"Thank you anyway, boss," Mercury said, briefly bowing to her before he started towards the warehouse's exit.

Cinder waited until he left before she let out a sigh, shaking her head. "If only it were that easy, child," she said to herself, frowning sadly at the door he'd left through. "The mind is a fickle thing, even to those who can understand its work. Whether you're aware of it or not, your mask is already becoming a part of you."

She rose to her feet, then cracked her head to one side. "If it takes over completely," she murmured, her gaze hardening, "I will end you myself. It is the least I can do."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Weiss sighed as she swallowed her sip of tea, relishing the sensation of the warm, honeyed chamomile seeping through her. It had taken her longer than she'd like to admit to calm herself down; she'd even had to take another dose of her medication, which her doctor had encouraged her to avoid doing when possible. Her eyes were closed, and she sat cross-legged in a storage room in the Soul of Yharnum, having found as much privacy as she possibly could thanks to a prior agreement with Victoriano.

Having spent some time basking in the silence of the closed off area, Weiss immediately stiffened when she heard the sole door to the room open. Opening her eyes, she looked over and stiffened further as she saw Yang closing it behind her.

"Hey, Weiss," Yang said, smiling goofily at her. "Blake told me what happened after I ran off. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you calm down, Weiss."

"It's okay," Weiss mumbled, blushing and staring down at her cup of tea. "I... It's better you weren't, honestly. It was bad enough with just Blake seeing me have a breakdown; I don't think I could've handled it if you were there, too."

Yang chuckled softly as she took a seat next to Weiss, their knees touching briefly as Yang settled down. The momentary contact was enough to make Weiss's cheeks redden further, and she took another sip of her tea in an attempt to calm back down.

"S-so, uh, how's Ruby?" Weiss asked, making Yang grimace and shake her head.

"She's... better than earlier, I guess," she said. "Still a bit shaken up, but her girlfriend's with her." Yang let out a dry laugh, shaking her head again. "What a way to meet my sister's girlfriend. I wanted to make a better impression than making her cry and doing a bad job of cheering her up."

"I'm sure you did your best," Weiss said, leaning over to bump her shoulder against Yang's.

"Still wasn't enough." Yang sighed, scowling down at the concrete floor as she leaned against Weiss in return. The two sat like that for a while, taking some measure of comfort in each other's presence, until Yang said, "So... this is probably a bad time to ask, given... well, everything, but you said you wanted to tell me something important?"

Weiss stiffened, pulling her shoulder away from Yang's in the process, but Yang had been leaning pretty heavily against Weiss. The blonde let out a yelp as she fell headfirst into Weiss's lap, unwilling to stick out an arm to catch herself for fear of injuring her friend. She chuckled, embarrassed, as she looked up at Weiss, only to stop as she saw her seem to both pale and blush simultaneously.

"Weiss?" Yang asked, blinking at her.

"I-I-I..." Weiss tried to begin, but was unable to get past her stammering. "W-would... would you..."

"Geez, Weiss, if you don't want my head between your legs, just say so," Yang joked, trying to diffuse at least some of the tension as she lifted herself off of Weiss's lap, believing that's what she wanted.

"I..." Weiss said again, closing her eyes as she attempted to steel her will. "Would you be willing to... to go out with me?"

Yang froze, staring wide-eyed at Weiss. Her mouth opened, as if to say something, only for it to close and then open again. "Weiss?" Yang asked, wary fear in her voice. "I... are you... are you really asking me that, or did I just... hear it wrong?"

Weiss seemed to shrink into herself, huddling further against the wall her back had already been pressed against. "N-no, you... you heard me... you heard me right."

"You... want to go on a date with me?"

"Yes! I mean, yes," Weiss said, her initial excited outburst immediately tempered by a fearful correction.

"I... I can't say yes, Weiss," Yang said, making the Schnee's lips quiver. "You know why I can't. I... I'm not safe for that sort of thing."

"We, we wouldn't have to do anything, you know... physical," Weiss said, her voice trailing off to nearly a whisper. "Just... I want to be with you, Yang."

"But, but..." Yang began, only to sigh and shake her head. "I'm sorry, Weiss. I won't make you give up on... on something so important to these sorts of... things."

"It's not as important as being with you," Weiss said, her voice cracking as a tear – the first of many to come – emerged from her eye and rolled down her cheek.

"Weiss... I can't. I... I know that I'd... make things more... like _that_ , if I was in a relationship," Yang began, hating herself more with every word she said. "I could try to keep things as in... under your control as possible, but I... I think that I wouldn't be able to do it for long. At best, I'd lose it during a kiss and wind up breaking your jaw. At worst..." Yang sighed, shaking her head morosely as her cheeks started to burn, even in this situation. "The only time I ever tried to... to... _you know_ , I... I broke my hand. Badly. I just... lost control of my legs and... _crunch_. That was it. If... If that had been someone's _head_... I don't know what I'd have done."

"I... I didn't know that," Weiss admitted, trying to push the pain of rejection down for as long as she could.

"I was thirteen. Our parents were gone, but Ruby was in the house and... and heard me scream." Yang chuckled sadly, her shoulders hunching with embarrassment. "I don't know what went through her head when she found me, but... but she helped pull my pants back up before she called our mom. She even came up with some dumb story about her doing some housework and making me lift a couch to cover for me. I don't think Mom actually bought it, but she still grounded Ruby for a month and didn't give me a lecture or anything." Yang chuckled again, driving Weiss to giggle almost sympathetically. "She never complained about it, she never looked... resentful, or anything. She just... helped me. I've done my best to pay her back over the years, but... I don't know if I ever can."

"You know," Weiss said around a hiccuping giggle, "if you're trying to get me to stop liking you... you're not doing a good job."

Yang laughed again, a body-shaking belly laugh that had Weiss laughing just from the sight of her. "I know, I just... I wanted to do something to cheer you up," Yang said, blushing again. "You're still my friend, even if I... even if we can't go any further than that."

Weiss wiped her sleeve against her face, sniffling in an attempt to keep her running nose from staining her shirt, and then shook her head. "I... I can't just stop feeling the way I do, Yang. I... I know it'll be awkward, but... if... if you really don't want to try, I'll... I'll try to feel... less. I guess."

"Hey," Yang said, gingerly lifting a hand to wipe away a tear that Weiss had missed, "if I ever... if I ever figure out a way to tone myself down, to... to make myself less... freakish, I'll–"

"You're not a freak, Yang," Weiss said, her voice barely a whisper as she grabbed Yang's hand and held it tightly. "You're you. The only change I want to see in you is you becoming more comfortable with who you are."

Yang chuckled, blushing again. "Th-thanks, Weiss," she mumbled, closing her eyes for a moment. "I... I still have to say no. I'm sorry."

"I know, but... thank you," Weiss said, her cheeks warming as well. "Thank you for being my friend. For being the first person to be kind to me after I moved to a new continent. For... for everything that you've done, and everything that you are, and everything that you've made me. Thank you, Yang."

"Hey, now," Yang said weakly, feeling awkward and embarrassed by the extra confession. "Don't make me feel even more embarrassed than I already do, princess. You could already roast a marshmallow on my forehead – I don't want you cooking steaks, as well."

Weiss couldn't help but laugh at the awkward joke, which made Yang chuckle as well. The two of them sat there for a while longer before they eventually left, enjoying the fact that they could still be friends despite what had just passed between them.

If Yang knew that Weiss was still hoping to change her mind, though... Weiss smothered the thought as Yang made another joke, instead smiling and laughing while she still could. There would be time for that later, she assured herself.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Damn it. I was hoping that ending would leave Weiss crying in a corner while Yang awkwardly left. Oh well, I guess this works too.

No real announcements to make, so I'll just say that this is still pretty fun for me to write, even though it might not seem like it since I update so infrequently. I've just been... feeling kinda meh, recently. I'm feeling better now, of course, but my head can go sour pretty abruptly, at times.

Let's just say I'm not writing this depiction of Weiss out of my ass and leave it at that, okay?

Well, not that awkward confession time is over, I'm off to hibernate through winter. Happy holidays, I suppose.

Until next time!


	6. Chapter 6

I'm gonna be brief up here: some things happened that made me not really want to write a crime drama right now. But I'm still going to do it. This chapter might not be great as a result, but at least it'll be done, letting me write the last chapter in this part as well, which will in turn allow me to take a nice, long break from this story. Enough to get myself back into the proper headspace to write the next part, which will be much less slice of life than this part has been.

Also, did you know that the thing on a flintlock pistol that actually holds the flint (and enables the weapon to function at all) is called a cock? It's relevant to this chapter!

Not really much else to say. Let's get to it.

 **XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

"Happy birthday to you!"

Ruby sighed, mostly in relief, as the song her family had been singing finally came to an end. Short though it might be, it represented something that she had never been quite comfortable with, given the economic status that her family had while she'd been growing up. Still, she could easily appreciate the utterly massive cake that rested on the table she sat at, as well as the twin candles, shaped like numbers, that burned silently atop it.

With a loosed breath, the candles were extinguished. Ruby nearly jumped out of her seat when they relit themselves a moment later, drawing a wild laugh from her father.

"Dad," Ruby said, sighing again as she snuffed out the candles with her power this time, forming a vacuum of airless space around them. "Did you really need to do that?"

"What?" Yang asked, grinning at her sister. "Did you forget that he used these candles on my sixteenth, too?"

"Sorry, sorry," Taiyang said as his laughter started to die down, wiping a tear from his cheek. "I couldn't help myself! I just thought about how you'd react when they started up again and I just..." he trailed off, his laughter starting to renew, much to his daughter's annoyance.

"Okay, that's enough of that," Summer said, reaching over to pull the candles from the cake – which resulted in them lighting up again as they left the vacuum field Ruby had created, startling Summer so much that she nearly dropped them, which in turn made Taiyang double over. "How do you put these things out?" Summer asked, eyeing the candles as if they might explode in her hands if handled incorrectly.

"Just... just water," Taiyang managed to choke out between laughs.

"Well, if that's all out of the way, I think that the ladies in the room are looking forward to having this cake for breakfast," said the fifth, final, and obviously oldest person in the room. Already nearing in eighties, his dark brown skin was creased with innumerable wrinkles, and his shaggy, shoulder-length hair had long since gone white. His eyes were as rich and warm as the mug of hot chocolate sitting in front of him, and he wore a fairly simple ensemble – dark brown trousers, tan polo shirt, and white sneakers, all bearing enough dirt and grass stains that they practically looked like military camouflage. "Summer, dear, if you would be so kind...?"

"Alright, Dad," Summer said, rolling her eyes as she returned from the sink she'd deposited the self-lighting candles in.

Ruby smiled at the exchange, simple and brief though it was. Her grandfather, Tendai Rose, was not actually her blood relative: he was Summer's foster father. He'd taken her in shortly before she'd turned nine, provided her with enough kindness and patience that she could recover from the abuses of her previous foster home, and been someone that Summer was proud to call her father. He'd retired after his wife's passing more than a decade ago, though he still owned the flower shop that they'd built up together and enjoyed tending to the garden that was one of the biggest reasons they'd chosen to buy the house they did, so long ago.

Ruby and Summer, of course, took the lion's share of the cake, but Tendai knew very well about their appetites and had chosen a cake that was both very large and very rich, a chocolaty affair with plenty of icing and topped with a plethora of strawberries. The two Rose women dug in with an unmatched ferocity while the rest of the family ate at a more sedate pace and made small talk, waiting for their hunger to be sated enough for them to participate.

"So, Ruby," Tendai began once he'd noticed Ruby begin to slow her pace, more than a third of the way into the slice she'd taken, "how's high school been treating you?"

"Pretty good," Ruby said, smiling awkwardly at him: she had a feeling she knew where this was going. "I'm handling my classes pretty well – straight A's, mostly. My classmates are pretty nice, too."

"One in particular, I hear," Tendai said, feeling a grin stretch his lips as his granddaughter blushed and sighed. "Neopolitan, if I remember correctly?"

"Y-yeah," Ruby said, throwing a wary scowl at her parents before returning her gaze to him. "She's... she's my girlfriend."

"Not the way I expected to hear you were interested in women, but I suppose that's the way the world works these days," Tendai said, almost offhandedly.

"Dad," Summer said warningly, drawing a chuckle from her father.

"Relax, Summer. I'm not against it. So, Ruby," Tendai continued, still grinning, "what do you like best about her?"

"Ooh, I can answer that for her," Yang chimed in, making Ruby turn to stare at her, her blush deepening. "Neo's eyes. Ruby thinks they're the most beautiful things in the whole world, don't you, Rubes?" Ruby's embarrassed stammering provoked another laugh from her father and grandfather, as well as a small giggle from her mother. "To be fair, her eyes are... captivating, I think's the word for it. They're brown, but each has a differently colored ring around the pupil, one pink and the other a sort of cream color. It's why she was named Neopolitan, I think."

Tendai let out a sound that wasn't quite a grunt, his grin growing wider as he looked between his grandchildren. "She sounds quite lovely. But, to turn the table a bit, Yang," he added, making the blonde freeze, "'captivating' isn't a word I, as a straight man, would use to describe a man. Tells me something about you, doesn't it?"

"Dad," Summer repeated, her same warning tone from earlier now filled with a tired sort of annoyance. "Can we please not talk about this right now?"

"Fine, fine," Tendai said, rolling his eyes. "Because I've been forced to move on to another subject," he continued, giving his foster daughter an amused look, "how's your work been, Tai? Still finding missing kids and rescuing people from cults?"

"There's been little of that, thankfully," Taiyang said, sharing a grin with Tendai. "The last cult I looked into wound up being nothing. Just two college students wanting to impress their peers, though I'm still not sure why they thought that was a good idea."

"What'd you wind up doing with them, anyway?" Summer asked, raising an eyebrow when Taiyang chuckled and scratched at his cheek sheepishly.

"Well, one of them was a hydrokinetic and the other was a skimmer, so I basically just told them off, introduced them to my client, and informed them of how things work here in Yharnum," Taiyang said, prompting a sigh from Summer. "What? My client just wanted information, and when I told her what was going on, all she wanted was to put them on the right path. You know how those faithful types can be."

"Skimmer?" Tendai asked, tilting his head to one side. "What's he got going for him?"

"Skimmer's just the broad term for the weaker telepaths. You know, like empaths," Taiyang explained, gesticulating with his free hand. "This guy could implant urges, too, but it was really easy to tell that they weren't mine. He'd be a decent investigator if he went straight, though."

"Thought we'd moved on from the sex talk," Tendai said, his lips quirking in a grin at the choking sounds that came from his granddaughters after he'd said that.

Summer sighed, buried her face in her hands for a brief moment, and then said, "How about you open your presents now, Ruby? Before your grandfather decides to give me an aneurysm," she added, sending a scowl at him as he grinned.

"Okay," Ruby said, fighting the urge to giggle at the exchange. She pushed her plate, still bearing a sizable chunk of cake, off to one side before pulling one of the small boxes from the center of the table towards her. Feeling a bit awkward now that so much attention was being placed on her, she tore open the paper covering as quickly as possible, revealing the reused shipping box that had been resealed with weak tape.

Within it was another box, this one slender, barely as long as her hand, and made from a glittery red faux-leather. The lid came off easily enough, revealing a length of thin black leather and the four-inch-long silver cross it was tied around. Ruby lifted the necklace and pendant from the case and put them on, giving a smile and a "Thank you!" to her parents before she moved on to the next box.

It was just as large as the repurposed package that her parents had used, but just moving it told Ruby that it was much heavier. She glanced at her grandfather, who only gave her a grin and a nod, before she opened it. Her eyes widened, and she glanced at her grandfather again, then at her parents, before she dipped her gaze back to the box and drew out its contents cautiously.

"Uh..." Ruby said, gingerly holding the centuries-old flintlock pistol in her hands. With a hand-carved wooden grip, a length of recently polished brown-tinted steel for a barrel, and a somewhat blackened steel cock that was notably missing its requisite piece of flint, it managed to startle nearly everyone in the room as Ruby brought it out into the open. "Is this... real?"

"Yep," Tendai said proudly, nodding his head. "Been in the Rose family for generations. Sorry to keep it from you, Summer, but I wasn't ready to pass it down before," he added, nodding again, this time towards his foster daughter, who was rather alarmed by his present to Ruby. "And I would've given it to you last year, Yang, but you said you hate these things enough times for it to stick," he directed towards the just-as-alarmed blonde sitting next to Ruby.

"I don't know if that's legal," Summer finally said after a moment, watching with wide eyes as her daughter gently set the weapon down on the table.

"Oh, relax," Tendai said, rolling his eyes. "Flintlocks are completely legal these days. Plus, I took out the flint, so it can't even fire."

"Well, nothing like giving your granddaughter a gun to show you're from a different time," Taiyang said, smiling awkwardly at everyone in the room. "How about we move on to the next one," he added once he realized that no one had reacted to his joke, picking up one of the two envelopes on the table and setting it down in front of Ruby.

"Right," Ruby said, glancing warily at the neutered flintlock one last time before picking up the envelope. "Movie tickets?" she asked Yang after opening it and looking at its contents.

" _Two_ movie tickets," Yang said, giving her sister a smile. "One for you and one for your girlfriend. They're to that theater over in Byrgenwerth. You know, the one where you can order food and stuff while you watch."

"Oh, the Draft House?" Ruby asked, perking up as Yang nodded. "Thanks, Yang."

"Don't mention it," Yang said.

"One last one," Taiyang said, picking up the last envelope and setting it in front of Ruby. "Qrow sounded a bit sad he couldn't be here when he called me yesterday, but he said that he thinks this will help make up for it."

"Okay?" Ruby asked. Her eyes widened once she'd opened the envelope and looked at what it held. "Holy shit," she said breathily, clearly awed by what she saw.

"Language," Summer said admonishingly, making Ruby blush and mumble an apology. "What is it?" Summer asked after a moment, drawing a series of nearly identical chuckles from her husband, her father, and her step-daughter.

"A check for five hundred dollars," Ruby said.

"Holy shit," Summer said, echoing her daughter's tone. This caused both her husband and father to outright laugh, and drew a few giggles from her daughter and step-daughter. "Is there a note, or something?"

"Yeah, hold on," Ruby said, pulling both the check and the folded piece of paper that had been behind it out from the envelope. The paper was, of course, a letter, which read:

 _Sorry I couldn't be there with you and the rest of the gang today, Ruby, but I'm neck deep in work right now. Once I'm done here, I'm planning on taking a few days off to spend with the family, so I'll be able to tell you and Yang all about it then. Until then, your birthday present's in this letter too._  
 _Don't go spending that money on just anything, though. Put it towards buying a decent car, or a bike like your sister did. After all, you're sixteen now. You'll need a ride sooner or later._  
 _Happy Birthday, Ruby._  
 _Qrow_

Ruby was smiling by the end of the letter, scrawled in what she recognized as her step-sister's uncle's messy handwriting. "He wants me to buy a car with it," Ruby said, tucking the check back into the envelope and setting it down. "And he says he's going to take a few days off once he's done with what he's doing."

"Well, then you can thank him then," Summer said, smiling at her daughter again.

"Hey, if you want, I can take you to the bank after school today," Yang said, gesturing vaguely with the piece of cake currently skewered on her fork.

"You don't have to work today?" Ruby asked as she moved her plate closer to her, where it had been before she'd started opening her presents. At Yang shaking her head, she smiled at her and said, "Thanks, Yang."

"No problem, sis."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Are you sure you want to be here for this?" Limbani asked, her lips stretching halfway between a coy smirk and a wide grin. She and Mercury were currently at her gang's former hangout, dodging lengths of yellow police tape and avoiding the worst of the still damp patches of blood.

"What can I say? I'm curious," Mercury said, wearing his own version of her expression. "Not many chicks I know would want to go through a shithole like this just to get their keys back. Makes me wonder just what you've done to that bike of yours."

"A whole bunch of shit," Limbani said, chuckling as they started down the stairs to the former tavern's cellar. "But I'm guessing you're not the sort who'd understand half of it, huh, Merky?"

"Merky?"

"Yeah, Merky," Limbani repeated, turning her head to keep him from seeing her cheeks coloring. "You got a problem with it?"

Mercury just chuckled, folding his hands behind his head as cockily as he possibly could. "Not at all, Limb."

"Shut up," Limbani said heatedly, still refusing to face him. Mercury's grin only widened at that response, but it fell from his face once he took a look at the cellar.

Saying it was oversized would be an understatement. The "cellar" stretched out for more than a hundred feet in every direction from the walled-in staircase, taking up considerably more of the area under the city block than the tavern itself did above; what that meant, Mercury wasn't sure. Heavy oaken casks were scattered about in seemingly random arrangements, set on their bases or on their sides just as randomly. Several spare chairs, bar stools, and even the dissembled parts of what looked like simple tables were pressed up against the cellar's walls, which Mercury could more easily understand – drunks with powers weren't always kind to furniture, after all. And that was just what Mercury could see from what daylight was leaking in from the staircase, as none of the lights were on in the cellar.

And then Limbani closed the door to the sectioned off staircase, plunging the room into utter darkness.

"Uh, Limb?" Mercury asked, letting his arms fall to his sides. "Slight problem: I can't see."

A laugh echoed oddly throughout the cellar, bouncing off of the various odds and ends scattered around. "Aw, is the cute little boy scared of the dark?" Limb taunted him, making his head jerk to one side in an effort to track where her voice was coming from. "Don't worry, Merky. It'll all be over soon."

"Ha ha, very funny. Now can you turn on the lights so I can help you find your damn keys?" Mercury asked, balling his hands into fists at his side. His legs were similarly tensing as he grew ready to dart back into the staircase at a moment's notice.

Limbani laughed again, which nearly drew a growl of frustration from Mercury. "Close your eyes, little boy."

Mercury sighed and did as she asked, only to jump as he noticed a sudden flood of light seep in through them. He opened his eyes again, squinting at the silver-tinted blue light that had filled the room; it took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the silver-tinted blue light, but when they did, they widened appreciably when he saw its source.

A single ball of what vaguely resembled fire hung suspended a few inches over Limbani's hand, though it wasn't like any fire Mercury had ever seen: it didn't flicker, didn't radiate a shimmering heat, and didn't emit any smoke at all. It was intensely bright, too, more like a halogen flashlight than an actual flame.

"I know you've been here for a while, but I felt like you deserved a proper welcome to Yharnum," Limbani said. With a wave of her free hand, several identical lights sprang into being along the walls of the cellar, and the light above her other move drifted lazily to a more central location.

"That's not fire, is it?" Mercury asked, still staring indirectly at one of the lights; they were too bright for him to look at directly, especially since his eyes had adjusted to near-total darkness only a moment ago.

"It actually is," Limbani said, lifting up a hand and letting some more natural-looking flames dance along her fingers, though they still utterly lacked any smoke. "But I've been learning how to control it for twenty years now, so I'm pretty damn good at it."

"Huh," Mercury said. Limbani raised an eyebrow at how accepting he seemed, so he gave her a cocky smirk. "You aren't the only gifted in the room, Limb."

"Oh?" Limbani asked, a similar smirk appearing on her lips. "I mean, I showed you mine. Only fair you show me yours, huh?"

"If that's how you want to play, then who am I to say no?" Mercury asked, his tone almost mockingly compliant. He took a quick look around the cellar, then darted off towards one of the barrels, using every bit of his speed. In little more than a second, he was at the farthest edge of the cellar, sitting on the barrel he'd chosen. His already cocky smirk grew more so when Limbani let out a low whistle at the display.

"Assassin, huh?" Limbani asked as Mercury started walking back, his hands folded behind his head. "Bet you do everything fast, huh?"

"I can go slow when I–" Mercury began, only to be cut off by a harsh tone that began wailing from his pocket. "Ah, damn it," he mumbled, pulling out his phone and swiping a finger across the screen to turn off the alarm.

"What was that about?" Limbani asked, one eyebrow raised and an amused smile on her lips.

"I've got school in fifteen minutes," he said, already running through some math in his head. "I think I've got... maybe six minutes or so before I need to start running. If I want to be on time for class, I mean."

"Then we'd better hurry up, huh?" Limbani asked, grinning at him. "Come on. I think I left my keys over around here."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Emerald drummed her fingers against her desk, eyeing her partner's empty seat as the bell rang, giving the students of Beacon a five minute warning before their classes began. She pulled her phone out of her purse, glared at the screen as it told her that she had no new messages, stuffed it back in more aggressively than she realized, and sighed in frustration.

"Wow." The single word was enough to make Emerald jump, surprise making her turn awkwardly in her seat to look at the person whose desk was next to hers. "You're really worried about him, aren't you?" Blake asked Emerald as she settled her backpack next to her desk before sitting down.

Emerald blushed, embarrassed at having acted out so obviously, but nodded timidly in response. "Y-yeah, I guess," Emerald mumbled, slouching forward before directing another angry glance at Mercury's desk.

"I'm sure he'll be on time for class, Emerald," Blake said, giving her best attempt at a calming smile. "Besides, it's just homeroom. It won't matter much if he's a few minutes late."

"Yeah," Emerald said again, letting out a sigh.

"Where is he, by the way?" Blake asked, making Emerald freeze for a brief second. "Whoa, calm down. I'm just curious. You don't need to tell me."

"N-no, it's fine," Emerald said, smiling awkwardly at the Faunus while inwardly berating herself for being so easy to read. "I just... I'm not used to this, I guess."

"What? Talking to people?" Blake asked, drawing a timid nod from Emerald. "Don't worry too much about it. Everyone has moments where they're a bit shy; some just have more of them than others, is all. Like us."

Emerald opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it and sighed again, shaking her head. "Coming from you, that doesn't mean a whole lot," Emerald said, shifting as if her seat was uncomfortable. "You were the first person to talk to me after I transferred here. That doesn't seem like something a... someone like me would do."

"Well, it's more of a... family... thing, I guess," Blake said awkwardly. She had gone light on the makeup this morning, as the rashes on her cheeks had mostly subsided, so her blush at her apparent inability to describe what she meant was more visible than it normally would have been. "Uncle Tai helps out anyone new to Yharnum, so Yang and I tend to do what we can for people our age, too."

"You and Yang are related?" Emerald asked, frowning. She was only mildly curious; for the most part, she wanted to try to figure out anything she could use to make Raven acquiesce to Cinder's orders more readily, and learning about her ex-husband's extended family seemed like it could be useful.

"No, but my parents are her half-sister's godparents," Blake explained, smiling awkwardly as Emerald raised an eyebrow. "But their parents were going through a hard time a while back, so I spent a lot of time with them when we were young. They're more like my sisters or cousins than anything, and their parents are like an aunt and uncle to me, too."

"Huh," Emerald said as politely as she could manage. She shifted again, actually uncomfortable this time, and decided that giving some of her story in return could put her in a good place with Blake. "I, uh... I know a bit about, uh, having a kinda different sort of family, I guess."

Blake smiled again, but shook her head. "Just because I told you about my family doesn't mean you have to tell me about yours, Emerald," Blake said, genuinely surprising her. "Don't force it just because you think you should."

Emerald blinked at her and opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off before she could by the school's bell ringing again. 'Five minutes already?' Emerald thought, glancing between the front of the class – where their homeroom teacher was starting to take attendance – and Mercury's still empty seat. 'How? It didn't seem that long.'

Before she could think too hard about that particular topic, the teacher called her name, breaking her from her train of thought and causing her to reflexively say "Here."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"So, how do you think we should proceed, rookie?" Summer asked her new partner. The two of them were in Summer's car, parked up against the curb a few houses down from the home of the person they believed to be responsible for the recent thefts of "low-value" items from the homes of some of the wealthier individuals in Yharnum.

"Why are you asking me?" Carlos asked, giving her a wary frown.

"Call it a test, if you want. I want to see how good you are at coming up with a strategy."

"Okay," Carlos said slowly, drawing out the word. He thought for a long moment, then said, "Well, we could just go about this the usual way. Knock first. If someone answers, we ask what questions we can without a warrant; if not, we take a look around through the windows and such to see if we can identify any of the stolen items through them."

"That wouldn't work. Most of them could be replicated by anyone with enough skill," Summer pointed out.

"Not the two bigger statues, though. Those are a bit too detailed for a normal person to mimic, so we'd be able to make a comparison to the images on our phones and make a judgment call from there," Carlos explained, drawing a nod from Summer. "There's probably only a few people in the whole world who can make anything on that level, after all. Why shop out of town when you can get something just as good without the hassle?"

"Rich people don't always think like that, but I'll concede the point," Summer said. "So, assuming it all goes well, we should have the perp behind bars in time for lunch. But, here's the thing: it doesn't always go well. Especially here in Yharnum, shit can go tits-up within a moment's notice. So, let's say the perp is easily identifiable and essentially admits to what she did. Go over what you think we should do if the perp decides to resist arrest."

"Subdue non-lethally if possible, but if your life or your partner's is threatened, take them down," Carlos said, his voice carrying a somewhat monotonous tone that told Summer he was quoting someone.

"Nice to see Lance is still teaching at the academy," Summer said, drawing a chuckle from her partner. "More specific, though. Guns out the moment it starts? Batons?"

"No. We don't draw weapons unless there is a clear and present danger," Carlos said, drawing another nod from Summer. "If we do, we do whatever we need to do to take her down. Ideally non-lethally, but if that's not an option, we go as hard as we need to."

"Right. Also, wrong," Summer said, making Carlos frown in confusion. "You can't plan how things will go if they go wrong. Not in our line of work, at least. We don't know everything; if we did, fewer criminals would be able to go free on technicalities. For example, what if she's got a boyfriend – or girlfriend – who we don't know about? What if she's paranoid enough to hire bodyguards and pay them enough to keep quiet about it? These aren't things that fall on our radar, after all. And then there's the Yharnum-specific stuff. What if she's telekinetic? Fulgurkinetic? What if she can fly, or mess with your mind?"

Carlos grimaced, then shook his head. "I guess you're right."

"No guessing needed. I've been there a couple of times cases when sideways. You'll have to trust me: if not for my powers, I'd have the scars to prove it," Summer said, unconsciously trailing a hand along her arm. She straightened in her seat as she saw their target exit her house, walking towards the mailbox by the curb with quick, almost fearful steps. "There she is."

"Saffron Wulf?" Carlos asked, his eyes catching onto her just as easily. "Wow. Didn't think she'd fit the description so well."

"Mm," Summer grunted affirmatively, taking a moment to look her over as well as she could from a block away.

From her long black hair that had grown disheveled and oily, to the dark circles growing beneath her fatigued eyes, to the way she looked around herself as if expecting someone to jump out and attack her, Saffron Wulf looked about as manic and obsessive as her friends and family had described her. Her hands and the feline tail extending from her back, normally orange, were stained with grey and light brown from a mixture of clay and chimney soot, as were her utilitarian flower-print dress and dark brown smock.

"Doesn't look like she's carrying a weapon, but you never know for sure," Summer mumbled, watching as the clearly unwell woman checked her mailbox, pulled out a pair of plain white envelopes, and swiftly retreated back into her home. "Want to update your plan?" Summer asked Carlos after a moment.

"Yeah. We knock, she'll most likely answer, and we wear kid gloves while we talk to her," Carlos said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He sighed, and turned to find Summer looking at him expectantly. "What?"

"You can talk to me, you know," Summer said, returning her gaze to Saffron's house. "I think I can tell what you've got on your mind, but it might be best to just say it."

"I just... I didn't expect this, you know?" Carlos began with a grimace. "I wanted... I don't know. I guess I wanted to crack some big case right off the bat, not, you know, track down an artist who needs a vacation more than a couple of cops knocking on her door."

"Things don't get black and white just because you've got a badge," Summer said, letting out a sigh of her own. "But it gets worse. If she gets violent, we'll probably be able to take her down without too much trouble and be able to get her the help she needs."

"How is that worse?" Carlos asked, his worried frown drawing another sigh from his older partner.

"Because it won't go down like that if she has powers," Summer said, unbuckling her seat belt. "If she gets violent and starts whipping at us with fire or lightning or something, taking her down non-lethally won't be enough. She'd wake up in a cell, freak out, and probably destroy half the station before we could contain her again. Same with an institution, if it got that far."

"What are you saying?"

"If it comes down to it, no matter how much you feel for her," Summer said, grimacing, "you need to be willing to put her down for good."

"What?!"

"Yeah, I know. It sucks, and it stays with you for your whole life," Summer said, her hand running along her arm again. "But it's better than letting the worst-case scenario happen. When you've got the time, ask someone who's got some years behind their badge to tell you about the Blood Warden."

"The 'Blood Warden'?" Carlos asked, only to be ignored as Summer started up the car again and pulled back out into the street. "Hey!"

"Let's just do our job, Carlos," Summer said, sighing again as she parked in front of Saffron's house. "Whatever that entails."

With that said, she got out of the car and started walking towards Saffron's front door. After a moment, Carlos followed her, though he wasn't sure who he'd try to help if push came to shove.

Summer knocked, rather than ringing the doorbell, which drew a curious look from her partner. Within seconds, the door slid open a few inches, revealing Saffron's disheveled form. "Saffron Wulf?" Summer asked. At the woman's nod, Summer showed her the badge that she'd pulled out on the way to the door. "My partner and I are with the police. Can we talk?"

"I, uh, I guess," Saffron said, her voice weak and quavering, even more evidence of her apparent insomnia. She opened the door further with an abrupt, jerky motion that made Summer freeze for a brief moment before she resumed the calm mannerisms she'd adopted. "Can we make this quick?" she asked timidly as she guided them over to her living room, which held a pair of large couches, a somewhat small television, and one of the statues that the two police detectives had been looking for. "I want to get back to my work."

"Of course," Summer said, using a rather soothing tone of voice that she'd learned from her long years of parenting. As she spoke, though, she took a moment to examine the statue. It wasn't quite the same as the one that had been reported missing.

The statue was fairly simple, in concept: a lovely woman wearing a gown and dipping her hands in a pond. The one they were looking for was about three feet tall, with clay that had been delicately shaped to resemble flesh and cloth. This one stood a few inches short of that, but the excess of shattered clay surrounding it could easily account for that difference.

It was also far more life-like than the original.

Whereas before, the clay woman had held the same uncanny symmetry as most artistic depictions, this one looked like it could spring to life at a moment's notice. Her smile-wrinkled cheeks held dimples and a readily apparent mole; her gown looked as airy and light as silk, and appeared to mold to a body beneath in a way that implied the sort of slender curves commonly regarded as perfect beauty; and her hair had been attended to with such detail, such precision, that it had been formed into individual strands that swept down her back and draped over her shoulders.

"It's beautiful," Summer said, gesturing to the statue with a smile. Saffron smiled in return, a bit of energy seeming to return to her as she ushered Summer and Carlos to take a seat.

"I know," Saffron said, her voice proud and full of joy as she took a seat on the other couch. "I'm so happy I could make it better than before. Did you see it, before?" Saffron asked, a tinge of shame and worry entering her voice.

"Yes," Summer said, her smile turning a bit sad. "And I'm sorry to say that's part of why we're here. You've been stealing your old artwork back, haven't you?"

"I'm not stealing them!" Saffron practically whined, becoming utterly afraid as quickly as Carlos could blink. "I'm making them better, and then I'll give them back. I promise!"

"I can tell," Summer said, nodding towards the statue again. "But the people you've taken them from don't, Saffron. They're confused and scared because someone broke into their homes and stole from them."

"I didn't steal," Saffron insisted in a fearful mumble, shrinking into her seat.

"I know, Saffron," Summer said gently. "It's okay. We want to help you return your art to them, but you need to come with us."

"No!" the Faunus shouted, her eyes widening dramatically as she sat upright. "I'm not finished fixing them yet!"

"Excuse me," Carlos said, mimicking Summer's gentle tone. Saffron seemed worried about taking her eyes off of the older detective, but she faced him nonetheless. "Saffron, right?" He waited until she nodded before continuing. "This statue is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen."

"Th-thank you," Saffron mumbled, blushing brightly and shrinking back into her seat at her embarrassment from the compliment.

"But, here's the thing – I'm not exactly big into art," Carlos admitted, his smile turning a bit sheepish as Summer glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "Normally, I wouldn't be able to tell if something was any good or not. But I've seen how this statue looked before you made it better, and it's... well, even I can tell the difference. Don't you think the old version deserved to exist, too, Saffron?" Carlos asked, making her blink owlishly at him. "Leaving your old work in the world just makes your new work better by comparison, don't you think?"

"I... I never..." Saffron trailed off, seeming near tears as she looked at the statue again.

"We're here to help you, Saffron," Carlos said. "Let us help you make this right. Please?" he asked, drawing another glance from his partner.

"I... okay," Saffron said, her voice small and timid, like a scared child's.

"Alright then," Carlos said, rising to his feet – but taking his time doing it. "Then let's get this sorted out. Could you come with us down to the station? That'll make this go a lot faster, and let you get back to your art much more quickly."

"Okay," Saffron repeated as she stood up shakily. She glanced at the statue one last time before she followed Carlos and Summer out.

Once her front door was locked and she was safely ensconced in the backseat of Summer's car, Carlos let out a sigh of relief.

"Good work, partner," Summer said, giving him a proud grin and a nod of her head. "That was some quick thinking."

"Nah," Carlos said, his cheeks coloring as he brushed her off. "My little cousin's thinking about being a writer some day, and her mom's been telling her that sort of thing all the time. It just seemed like the right thing to say here, you know?"

"Nope," Summer said around a chuckle. "Neither of my daughters are very artistic, so I've never had to deal with that."

"Oh... Wait, you have kids?" Carlos asked, drawing a loud bark of laughter from her.

"Maybe you'll get to meet them someday, rookie," Summer said. "But not today. Now, let's get her back to the station and get this sorted out as best as we can, alright?"

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Are you sure you'll be fine hanging out with grandpa until I get back?" Ruby asked her sister. The two of them were walking, Yang having decided to park in a convenience store's parking lot rather than dealing with the mess of traffic that normally surrounded their bank.

"Yeah, Ruby," Yang said, rolling her eyes. "He'll probably just rope me into some last minute decorating to impress the trick-or-treaters."

"Okay. I just kinda feel bad for leaving you like this, Yang."

"Relax, Rubes. I'm not gonna try to guilt you for wanting to spend time with your girlfriend," Yang said, giving her sister a smile. "'Specially not today."

Ruby returned her smile, feeling more than a little relieved. "Thanks, Yang."

"Speaking of, what'd she get you? You know, for your birthday?"

"Uh, well," Ruby said, letting out an awkward chuckle as she scratched at the back of her neck. "I don't know yet."

"Ooh, so it's gonna be _that_ kind of present, huh?" Yang asked teasingly, laughing as her sister's cheeks colored. "When you get back, you've gotta tell me everything. Every last, _juicy_ detail," she continued, making Ruby's blush deepen further.

"Yang!" Ruby whined, prompting another laugh from the blonde. She grimaced, though she turned away to hide it turning into a smile, only to blink in surprise when she saw the swarm of activity around the bank. "Yang? What's going on?" Ruby asked, easily making out several police cruisers and even a SWAT van between the press of news vehicles.

"Oh, shit," Yang said under her breath as they stopped, staring wide-eyed at what was happening. "Is someone robbing it?"

"Not anymore."

The two young women turned to face the police officer that had approached them. With dark brown hair peppered with streaks of grey, a pair of weary grey eyes, and a mess of wrinkles littering his cheeks, he truly looked his age. However, despite being in his mid-fifties, well-formed muscles showed even through the thick fabric of his uniform, and he held himself with the grace and bearing of someone who knew their way around a fight.

"Officer Carrillo," Ruby said, giving him a brief smile, only for it to morph into a frown once more as she looked back at the cordoned off bank. "What's going on? Did something happen?"

The officer sighed, shaking his head morosely as he looked over at the bank as well. "Some bad shit," he said simply, his voice rough and gravelly; he'd quit smoking a few years ago, but not before his voice had permanently changed from the almost feminine pitch he'd had before he started. "That's the best way to put it. Whoever did this was... professional. In a way we don't normally get."

"What do you mean?" Yang asked.

Officer Carrillo glanced over at the various news vans nearby, then started towards a nearby alleyway, urging Ruby and Yang to follow him. After sharing a brief glance with each other, they did. "What I'm about to tell you is confidential information," Carrillo said, keeping his voice low and soft, once they were all safely ensconced within the alley. "I need your word you won't tell anyone, okay? At least until after the press release."

"You've got it," Yang said, Ruby nodding solemnly right beside her. This wasn't the first time Carrillo had told them about active crime scenes and investigations, and they were used to the level of caution and paranoia he held them to.

"Good. Now, from what we can tell, there were only three people involved in this," the aging police officer began. "Normally, that's only enough to take a smaller bank, since most folk want to keep from leaving bodies behind and making us chase after them even harder. Not these people, though."

"Wait," Ruby said, her eyes going wide again. "Are you saying–"

"They walked in and killed every employee there before anyone could set off an alarm," Carrillo interrupted her, making her gasp in shock. "Took everyone else hostage, thank the gods. They took everything with damn near impunity before someone outside noticed what was happening and called 911, but the thieves were nearly done by then. They lit out before we could surround them. Vanished down an open manhole. And I do mean 'vanished'." He sighed, frustrated, before saying, "Sometimes I hate this city."

Yang swallowed, shifting on her feet. "Do... do you think it could be... you know?" she asked, swallowing again with Carrillo shrugged and shook his head.

"We'd need to go through the security footage to figure that out, and even then, I doubt we'd know for sure," he said as Ruby wrapped an arm around her clearly frightened older sister. "I doubt it was her, though. Why would she come back now, after all these years?" he continued, clearly noticing the effect he'd had on Yang and trying to assuage her fears at least a little bit. After a moment, he sighed again, then said, "You should talk to your folks, though. If Raven's back in town... shit could go bad, easy."

"Thanks for telling us, Officer," Ruby said, clinging even more tightly to Yang after Carrillo's final statement. "Does Mom know?"

"Yeah. She was at the station when we got the call, but she and her partner were interrogating a suspect in a different crime, so she's still there."

"Thank you, sir. I think we should go, now," Ruby said, starting to pull Yang out of the alley. Carrillo grimaced, clearly unhappy with how distraught he'd made them, but went back to his post without another word.

"It... it can't be her," Yang mumbled to herself, swallowing fearfully as she closed her eyes. "It can't be her. It can't be."

"You're right, Yang: it _can't_ be her," Ruby said firmly, making her sister's eyes open again. "There's no way Raven would ever come back to Yharnum. Not while Dad's here to kick her ass back out of it."

"But–" Yang began, only for Ruby to shush her instantly.

"No matter how strong she is, no matter how tough, she still needs to breath," Ruby said, smiling grimly as she squeezed Yang a bit tighter to herself. She flexed her power, sending a gust of wind into Yang's face, just strong enough to annoy her. "So there's no way she'd come back to Yharnum when the only person who can kill her is still here."

"You..." Yang began, only to shake her head and sigh, leaning her head onto Ruby's shoulder – an action only made possible by her knees having practically buckled while Ruby stood as straight as she could. "You're right. You're right. Thank you, Ruby. I needed that."

"No problem," Ruby said, tilting her head so that their foreheads touched for a brief moment. "Now, let's get back home, okay? I don't think I'll be able to deposit uncle Qrow's check today, not with everything going on."

Yang chuckled at that, gingerly wrapping her own arm around her sister and returning the hug. "Wait, huh?" Yang asked after a moment, making Ruby raise an eyebrow at her. "What about your date?" she asked, making Ruby giggle awkwardly and blush.

"Uh... okay, so maybe I forgot about that for a moment," Ruby admitted, making Yang laugh again. "But we can always go on another one. Right now, you need me more, Yang."

Yang couldn't help but smile at that, and very gently headbutted her sister in a clumsy attempt to hide her own blush. "Idiot." She laughed again, disentangled herself from the hug, and said, "Fine, you win. But I want to be in the room when you call your girlfriend to explain yourself."

"Um, Yang?"

"Yeah?"

"She's mute, remember? I'll be texting her."

"... Oh. Right, that makes sense."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"I think I'm missing out on part of the story here or something," Tendai said as Ruby hung an electric lantern from a wooden post he'd just pounded into the front yard. The sun was only a few minutes away from setting, and he wanted to take advantage of what light he had left to decorate as much as possible for any trick-or-treaters who came knocking. "The way you're talking, it sounds like something I should've known about. Then again, I bet most folks wouldn't really care to ask too many questions about their daughter's husband's exes."

Ruby let out a giggle at that, giving her grandfather a small smile as they started hanging artificial cobwebs between a few of the decorations they'd already set up. "When you put it like that, yeah. But..." Ruby trailed off, chewing on her bottom lip for a moment. "This is kinda different, you know?"

"No, I clearly don't," Tendai said, rolling his eyes. "I wish I did, though. Might make Yang being too scared to leave the house make more sense."

When Ruby and Yang had gotten home, Yang had immediately calmed down significantly, but had offered to make some snacks for them rather than going outside to help their grandfather set up Halloween decorations. When she'd finished, she'd stood just inside the front door and called them back inside rather than going out to meet them, and had used her homework as an excuse to keep from helping them after they'd eaten.

"Well, uh... you know how crazy strong Yang is, right?" Ruby asked, drawing a grunt and a nod from Tendai.

"It's part of why I'm confused."

"She gets it from her," Ruby said, not noticing Tendai raising his eyebrow at her refusal to say Raven's name. "She... she has more than Yang, too. She's got everything our uncle Qrow has, but she's put herself through more... situations, I guess, where her power could adapt to them and make her even tougher. According to him, I mean."

"So she's strong and tough. Big whoop. Bet I could knock her ass out with a decent right hook," Tendai said, his half-grumbling, half-bragging statement drawing a nervous giggle from Ruby. "I know, girl, I know. Things are different here in Yharnum: you probably mean something more by saying she's tough than I'm hearing."

"Yeah," Ruby confirmed. "But it's just... how things are around here." Tendai grunted, squinting as he examined their work with a critical eye. "And there's more to it, too. It's not just how strong she is or how tough she is. It's what she's done."

"Oh?" Tendai asked, rearranging some of the fake webbing that Ruby had hung from one of the plastic skeletons. She'd placed it on it like a cape; his adjustment made it cling between the skeleton's arm and a tree, giving the impression that it had tried and failed to escape from the giant inflatable spider that had been situated among its branches.

"You know that the First Bank of Yharnum got robbed today, right?" Ruby asked, drawing another grunt from her grandfather. "Raven tried to rob it a long time ago, back when Yang was only... I think she was only two months old."

"I get why he divorced her," Tendai said. He turned to look at Ruby when she didn't laugh, his frown softening when he noticed her twiddling her index fingers together.

"That's not it," Ruby said, her voice small and quiet. "Raven didn't quite... do it well. She took everyone hostage, including the tellers and security and... and anyone else who'd been working there, but someone managed to set off the silent alarms. So, she tried to take control of the situation when the police showed up, shouting demands and showing off the hostages. One of the hostages was... was a little girl. A toddler, maybe eleven months old," Ruby continued, making Tendai's eyes widen and his back straighten. "Things went bad and she... she killed her."

"Holy fucking gods undying," Tendai murmured, making Ruby flinch and halfheartedly eye him. "Right, sorry. Forgot Summer's raised you right."

Ruby's lips twitched upwards at that, but returned to a sad frown as she continued. "Raven got away, but her mask got pulled off at some point, so everyone knew it was her. Dad says he filed for divorce a few days later and got it accepted within a month; apparently it's really easy to get a divorce if your spouse kills a baby on live TV," she said, letting out another nervous giggle.

Tendai put his hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed it, getting Ruby to look up at him. "Didn't think it could get that bad," he admitted with a grimace. "I won't give Yang any shit about being scared about this. Promise."

"Thanks, grandpa," Ruby said, wrapping him in a hug. He returned it somewhat awkwardly before she pulled away, blushing. "Right, sorry. I forgot you don't like those."

Tendai laughed, a deep, throaty chuckle that made Ruby smile. "Well, let's get these lights on, shall we?" he asked, turning the conversation to something that might actually cheer them up. Returning to the front of the house, he flicked the switch on the surge protector they'd plugged all the various extension cords into.

And then frowned deeply as only half of the lights and electronics they'd plugged in sprang to life.

"Well, shit," he said simply, making Ruby giggle. "Looks like we've got some more work to do, huh?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling at him.

"Say: how's about I handle this," Tendai offered, making Ruby raise an eyebrow at him. "This'll probably be a one-man job, after all. You go on inside and keep your sister company, alright? Make sure she's not jumping at shadows or nothing."

Ruby laughed again, her smile turning into a full-blown grin. "Thanks, gramps," she said. She moved as if about to hug him again, then thought better of it, instead awkwardly rocking back and forth on her feet for a moment before she returned to the house.

"Crazy kids," Tendai muttered to himself as he fiddled with the extension cords' plugs. After a moment, he tried the switch again, and smirked triumphantly when nearly all of the lights came and electronics turned on. His smile faded after a moment, and he let out a breath as he slowly processed everything that Ruby had said. "Shit's fucked," he mumbled, glancing at the single object that hadn't turned on, a skeleton that was supposed to jerk its arm to the side every thirty seconds or so. "If I'd had a mother like that... heh. Good thing she doesn't," Tendai continued, his smile returning as he thought it through.

After a minute, he walked over to the malfunctioning skeleton and looked it over critically, quickly identifying the problem: a single switch on the back of its head that was currently flipped into the "off" position. Tendai swore under his breath at not having checked it beforehand as he flipped the switch, nodding to himself as he headed back inside, where his grandchildren were.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

The last time Mercury had seen Cinder angry, his father had wound up with bruises and broken bones.

This time, it seemed like nothing of the sort would happen.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Cinder asked, her voice low and her eyes gleaming dangerously. She was glaring daggers at Raven, who seemed unimpressed by her ire, but her sheer rage was enough to thoroughly cow Mercury, Emerald, and even Velvet, all of whom were staying silent in the hopes of keeping her attention off of them.

"You brought me back to a city where I have unfinished business," Raven said, one hand on her hip as she gazed coolly at the irate woman before her. "Since you were taking so long, I decided to fill my time with something worth doing."

"What you've done is force us out of the city," Cinder spat. She gestured towards Emerald, who froze for a moment before darting towards them with a tablet computer, the screen displaying a few files pilfered from the police database. "The hostages – the ones you left alive – were able to give enough details about you to the police for them to determine that it was, in fact, _you_ who robbed that damn bank. They've called in the FBI for backup, and they'll be swarming the city in a matter of days. We won't be able to take the city from the Candle without them interfering! Months of preparation, wasted, because you couldn't keep your damn ego in check!" By the end, Cinder was shouting, a display that outright shocked her servants, who'd never seen her raise her voice before.

"I don't really care," Raven said simply. "If something as small as that is enough to force you out, then you'll still need me when you decide to come back. And from what I hear, even a few years won't matter much to your master."

Cinder let out a long, heated breath, her eyes closed and her teeth clenched tightly together. "You're right about one thing," Cinder said, her voice still filled impotent fury. "Salem won't care about a short delay. What she _will_ care about is a minion who can't keep her ego in check. Don't expect to be paid for the work you didn't do, Miss Branwen."

Raven rolled her eyes and turned on her heel, walking towards the door of the former factory. She tilted her upper body and took a half step to the side as a spear of concrete lunged through where she'd been, avoiding it entirely as she continued to walk at a calm pace. "That wouldn't have worked, you know," Raven said, pausing at the doorway to smirk at Cinder before she left.

Cinder made a sound halfway between a growl and a scream, slamming her fist into one of the concrete walls of the abandoned factory and sending a rumbling quake through the whole building, one that was nearly strong enough to knock Velvet from her feet. "Damn it!" she yelled, punching the wall again; Velvet did hit the floor this time, as did Emerald, though Mercury managed to remain standing. "Damn it!... I failed her," Cinder murmured, hitting the wall again, though much more weakly this time and without an accompanying tremor. "She trusted me with... with something so _simple_ , and I failed her. All I needed to do was take over a _single_ city, and I couldn't."

Her shoulders shook, and, despite her eyes being wide with fear and dismay, tears started rolling down her cheeks. "I failed her," Cinder repeated again, falling to her knees. "I couldn't... I couldn't do it."

Mercury and Emerald shared a glance, their eyes wide. They'd never seen their boss like this before.

"Cinder?" Emerald asked, crawling the short distance between her and her boss rather than return to her feet.

"I failed her."

"Cinder, it'll be okay," Emerald said, a bit too afraid to properly voice the soothing tone she'd been aiming for. "How long have you served her, without making a single mistake?"

Cinder didn't seem to notice her servant so close to her, but after a moment she said, "Years. Decades."

"Then she'll give you another chance," Emerald said, smiling at Cinder when the older woman looked over at her. "She won't ignore the years you've helped her just because you made a single mistake. Especially since hiring Raven wasn't your idea. It was Tyrian's, right?"

Cinder blinked at her, then said, "You're right. It's _his_ fault, not mine." She rose to her feet, swiped the back of her hand across her face, cleared her throat, and looked down at Emerald with a touch of firmness back in her features – though Emerald could still see the appreciation beneath it. "What are you doing?" she asked, a low rumble of forced frustration in her tone. "Get up."

"Yes, ma'am!" Emerald exclaimed, unable to keep her happiness out of her voice as she complied.

"This is only a temporary setback," Cinder began, speaking confidently, as if she hadn't essentially had a breakdown mere moments ago. "We'll pull out of Yharnum for now to avoid the Bureau's dogs, but then we'll be back once they're no longer looking."

"I think there might be a small problem with that," Mercury said, only to grimace when the look Cinder gave him made a chill run down his spine. "Emerald and I have been set up as transfer students, but if we bolt right now, it'll look suspicious. People would start looking into us. I don't know how good those fake backgrounds we got are, but I doubt they'd hold up to the kind of scrutiny that'd come from being looked at like we were working with Raven Branwen." With a glance over at Velvet, who was only now getting back to her feet, he added, "Plus, someone needs to stick around to make sure the local doesn't start looking for a better offer."

Cinder frowned, then nodded. "Fair enough. You and Emerald will stay here while I and the others leave," she said, getting a brief look of horror from Emerald before the younger woman directed a harsh glare at Mercury.

"Others?" Velvet asked, her fearful wariness readily apparent in everything from her body language to the frown she wore.

"That's not for you to concern yourself with," Cinder said dismissively. "Mercury, Emerald, you'll operate the way you have been. Gather information and pass it along the secondary dead drops for now, then return to the primaries after six months if you've received no new orders in that time."

"Understood," the two said simultaneously, though Emerald seemed frustrated by her inability to stay by her master's side.

"Mercury, escort Velvet to her place of work," Cinder ordered, drawing a nod from him. "I have something I need to... take care of."

Mercury paled, grabbed Velvet's arm, and started pulling her towards the exit. "Wha- hey!" Velvat exclaimed, glaring wide-eyed at him. "I can make it there myself, and I still have questions!"

Mercury only sped up, practically pushed her out the door in front of him, then closed it behind him. "Trust me: you don't want to be there for this," Mercury said, motioning for her to keep walking.

"Will you at least tell me why?" Velvet asked, the rabbit-like ears atop her head straightening as she sighed from exasperation.

"Emerald has... feelings, for our boss," Mercury said, making Velvet's eyes widen again. "Cinder occasionally indulges her. But she has certain... tastes. Ones that most people, myself included, would find kinda disturbing."

"You mean like... like scat?" Velvet asked, drawing a look from Mercury as they started walking again. "What? It's a fair question after what you just implied."

"No, nothing quite that disgusting. It's more... blood, and cutting, and... just take every negative stereotype of BDSM and you've probably got a good idea," Mercury said, grimacing. "Emerald's always pale and bruised for days after, but she insists its the greatest thing she's ever felt."

"Isn't she underage?"

"Yep, but that hasn't stopped them these last four years."

"Well, I'm terrified," Velvet said plainly. She shivered, but when she caught Mercury looking at her again, she said, "What? It's cold, and I don't have a jacket."

"I'm not gonna judge you for it," Mercury said seriously. "Normally, I'd make you an offer – something along the lines of 'warming you up' – but I'm really not in the mood now that I had to think about all that shit again."

"Good, because you're not my type," Velvet said, drawing a laugh from him.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Sorry, Neo, but I can't today," Ruby said, grimacing as she spoke to her girlfriend. "Dad wants me and Yang to head home as soon as school lets out."

Neo sighed quietly, then signed, _It's been three days. Why?_

"I... Damn it, I wish I had time to explain," Ruby swore as the afternoon bell rang, formally announcing the end of the school day. "I'll tell you everything tomorrow morning, okay? I'll come to school early, so we can have some extra time to talk about it."

 _Why not just text it to me?_ Neo signed, frowning at her girlfriend as she hurried to gather up her schoolwork into her backpack.

"Because I want to tell you in person," Ruby said. Neo sighed again, but gave her a somewhat forgiving smile and a quick, chaste kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for understanding, Neo," Ruby added, standing up to leave. "I'll tell you tomorrow, I promise."

Neo nodded at her as she left, then slumped back down in her seat and scowled at her own schoolwork as she started putting it away. "That seemed important," came Lilith's voice from next to her, drawing a halfhearted glare from the functionally mute girl. "Is something wrong?" she asked, pulling another sigh from Neo.

 _Yes, but I don't know what,_ Neo signed. She grimaced, picked up a pencil and started writing on a loose sheet of paper that was still on her desk, since she knew that Lilith's understanding of sign language wasn't good enough for her to know what Neo wanted to say next.

 _She's been acting distant, recently, and hasn't told me why. She says it's a family thing, that they're scared of something, but hasn't told me what. It's starting to make me worried, I think._

"I wish I knew something about it," Lilith said apologetically as she shrugged. "I even worked up the nerve to ask her god-sister Blake, in 3B, but she wasn't willing to talk to me about it. She just said that she didn't know any of us to know why Ruby hasn't told us."

 _That's valid,_ Neo signed. When Lilith frowned and cocked an eyebrow, Neo sighed and wrote it down on the sheet of paper.

"Oh, so that means 'valid'?" Lilith asked, mimicking the gesture Neo had made and drawing a nod from her. "Okay. But I don't know why they're not telling us. I mean, you're her girlfriend, for the gods' sake! You're practically family!"

Neo raised an eyebrow and slowly shook her head as she wrote down her response. _We've barely been together a month. I can't even feel embarrassed by that because it's just so wrong to assume a relationship can move that quickly._

Lilith scowled at her, mumbling, "You're no fun."

"What's taking you so long?" Izzy asked as she walked over to them, her backpack already slung over her shoulder. "I asked if you wanted to invite Neo if she didn't have plans with Ruby, and then you just walked over here and didn't stop talking to her. So, wanna come?" she added, turning her gaze from Lilith to Neo.

 _For what?_ Neo signed curiously.

"The theater in the Byrgenwerth is showing a marathon of Jurassic Park movies, and it turns out that Whitley and Penny haven't seen any of them," Lilith said, throwing a thinly veiled scowl at Izzy. "Solon's sick and can't go, so I thought that if you and Ruby don't have plans, you could take his spot instead."

Neo cocked her head to one side, her eyes narrowed in thought, then signed, _Okay. Just let me ask my uncle if it's okay._

"Great!" Lilith said, beaming at her.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Sorry to do this again, but, well, you know how it is," Yang said, smiling bashfully at Blake and Weiss. "Mom and Dad want us at home whenever we're not in school, so I don't really have much of a choice here."

"It's okay, Yang," Blake said, rolling her eyes. "We know what's going on."

"I could still come visit, if you want," Weiss said, somewhat timidly. She'd noticed Yang had been keeping her distance from her ever since she'd confessed her crush and been turned down, and she could understand why... in theory. Weiss still hoped to eventually change her mind, but was much more concerned with keeping one of the few friends she'd made over her time spent in Yharnum than with eventually starting a relationship with her. "I finished my homework in study hall, so I could keep you and Ruby company. Or help one of you with yours, if you want."

"Nah, we should be fine," Yang said, her smile becoming somewhat forced. "Thanks for offering, though, Weiss."

"Oh, before I forget and you run off," Blake said, making Yang pause in the middle of donning her backpack, "Adam and I managed to get a date set for his surgery."

"That's great!" Yang exclaimed. "When?"

"Two weeks from Monday. After that, it's just a couple days of recovery, and then he'll be able to see again. Can you two make sure you've got some time free that Wednesday?" Blake asked, suddenly seeming a bit hesitant. "I'd like to... you know, introduce him to you."

"I should be free," Weiss said. "Assuming nothing comes up, I mean."

"I'll see what I can do, but I'm gonna wait a bit before I ask Dad," Yang said, her smile turning bashful again. "Actually, I'll probably ask Mom. She's been taking this a bit better than him, so she'll probably let me go with you then, even if Dad wouldn't."

"Got it," Blake said. "If you can't come, I'll bring a few pictures of you so he can recognize you if he sees you somewhere."

"Sounds good. As long as they're not from that sleepover last year," Yang said firmly, her cheeks coloring as Blake laughed. "I know you lied about deleting them, Blake."

"No, I _totally_ deleted them," Blake insisted, though her smile and tone of voice said otherwise.

"What pictures?" Weiss asked curiously.

"I'll show you later," Blake said, not even bothering to pretend to whisper. "I mean, I don't have them anymore. Honest."

Yang let out a sigh that quickly morphed into a groan, shook her head, and started for the door. "Gotta go, see you tomorrow!" she called over to them as she left.

"See you then!" Weiss replied before Yang was out the door, then turned to face Blake, who had pulled out her phone and was scrolling through it. "Uh, Blake?"

"Shh. Just let me pull them up," Blake said, flashing Weiss a quick smile. "You'll want to see them, I promise."

"I-I mean, I do kinda want to see them, but... well, you know I, uh, talked to Yang about... you know," Weiss said hesitantly, swallowing nervously as Blake looked up at her. "I don't... I don't know if I should do something like this."

"Oh, no, they're not, like, sexy pictures or anything," Blake assured her, turning her phone so Weiss could see the screen. Weiss couldn't stop herself from looking at it, and had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep herself from laughing.

Displayed on the screen was Yang, wearing a tank top and a pair of pajama bottoms, glaring murderously at the bear-shaped plastic bottle in her hand. It was notably empty, and, from the sheer amount of honey covering her chest, Weiss could assume that Yang had accidentally burst it and covered herself in its contents. Thankfully, her top was a dark enough shade of red that it couldn't become see-through when wet, and either the honey had been at least room temperature or Blake had taken the picture before certain parts of Yang's anatomy had time to stiffen from the cold.

"She didn't... did she?" Weiss asked, swallowing her giggles as she stared helplessly at Blake's phone.

"And then Ruby decided that since Yang had to take a shower after that anyway, she might as well throw some whipped cream on her hair," Blake said, grinning at Weiss as she swiped a finger across her phone, revealing Yang having turned her murderous glare at her sister, who indeed had a can of whipped cream that she was releasing into the blonde's hair.

"Why did you have whipped cream and honey?" Weiss asked, fighting to keep some semblance of control over her laughter.

"You know, I don't actually remember."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Alright," Taiyang mumbled to himself, washing his hands in the kitchen sink as he glanced back at his latest creation. A platter of freshly baked, individual-sized cherry pies awaited his daughters' return. The day before, it had been apple fritters, and the day before that cinnamon buns shaped like pretzels.

Taiyang realized that he was doing anything he could to keep his mind off of his ex-wife, while also keeping his mind on his daughters so he could keep them safe from her, but he couldn't help himself. She was one of the few people he'd ever been nervous around. Granted, it had been for different reasons before he'd found out what she did in her free time, but the fact remained.

He checked the clock, then swore under his breath as he realized that Ruby and Yang would be leaving school in only a few minutes and he'd made a mess of the kitchen. So, eager to busy his mind even further, he set to work on cleaning the assortment of measuring cups and baking pans he'd used, and then wiping down the counters. And then cleaning the stove while he waited for the over to cool enough for him to clean that, too.

When the doorbell rang, Taiyang jumped, dropping the plastic spray bottle of cleaning solution he'd been using. He spent a moment just focusing on his breathing, then picked it back up, set it back upright, and draped the rag he was holding down into the few drops that had leaked out from the less than airtight seal on the bottle.

"Just a minute!" he yelled over to the door, washing his hands in the sink again. He took another calming breath, then started towards the front door, wondering who it could be.

When he opened it, Raven smirked at him, lifted the gun she held, and said, "Hi, honey. I'm home."

And then she pulled the trigger.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

...


	7. Chapter 7

...

 **XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

When the trigger of Raven's gun refused to budge, her smirk only grew. "Nice to see you still have good reflexes, Tai," she said, staring at her ex-husband with a predatory gleam in her red eyes.

Taiyang didn't bother responding – he just cast out a hand towards her.

A sudden pulse of wind, faster than anything outside of a tornado, flew from his hand and slammed into her chest, knocking her from her feet and sending her to the other side of the street. She landed hard on her side, but rolled with the fall and wound up on her feet, still smirking at him.

"I'm pretty sure I got a restraining order when I divorced you, Raven," Taiyang said, feeling a bit of his normal self come back as he stepped out of his home; sure, one of his worst fears was standing in front of him, but at least he didn't have it hanging over his head anymore. He grinned at her, though the harsh anger in his eyes ruined the effect of his usually pleasant smile. "Looks like I can get you arrested now."

She laughed, her smirk changing into a more genuine smile. "I missed those lousy jokes of yours," she admitted. After a moment, she sighed, her demeanor changing back to her normal violent, predatory self. "That doesn't change what I'm about to do, though. You cheated on me, Tai. Knocked up some random woman the moment I was gone."

"I'm pretty sure I divorced you first. I'd be pretty pissed at my lawyer if he messed it up somehow."

"How old was Yang when you got your new lover pregnant, Tai?"

"How old was she when you killed that baby?" Taiyang asked, all semblance of humor leaving him as he glared at his ex-wife. "How old was she when you decided that being a criminal was more important to you than her?"

Raven just frowned at him, almost seeming disappointed. "Two months. Give or take a week. I still want an answer to my question, Tai."

"I'm sure you already did the math yourself," Taiyang snapped at her.

"Oh, I did. I just want to hear you admit that you were cheating on me," Raven said, smirking at him again. "Relationships like that don't start out of nowhere, Tai. I know you didn't bother marrying her until two years after she'd given birth to your daughter, so I want to know how long you two were together before I was out of the picture."

"I'd never even seen her before you murdered that baby," Taiyang said, making Raven sigh. "She was part of the detail assigned to protect me and Yang after you became the most hated person in Yharnum. That was when I met her. Wait, why in the gods' name am I bothering to explain myself to you?" he asked, then swiped his hand at her again.

Wind followed the motion, and Raven was flung nearly twenty feet straight up. She just sighed again and let herself fall back to the ground, impacting it harshly but to no visible effect. When she rose to her feet, brushing the dirt off of her clothes, she didn't move like someone who'd been hurt.

"I can see you're not in the mood to talk," Raven stated, cracking her knuckles as she started towards Taiyang. "Maybe after I-" Her speech cut off abruptly, her mouth opening and closing twice before she realized what was happening. Wide-eyed, she took a few jogging steps over to the nearest mailbox, wrenched it entirely from the ground as easily as pulling a blade of grass from loose dirt, and threw it as hard as she possibly could at her ex-husband.

Taiyang let go of the vacuum of air he'd been holding around Raven's head and condensed the air between him and the flung mailbox a hundred times over, causing it to slow dramatically and come clattering to a halt in the middle of the street.

"Let's just get this over with," Taiyang said tiredly, not bothering to reform the vacuum bubble as Raven started running towards him. Instead, he jumped as high as he possibly could. And then kept going, air flowing strongly enough beneath his legs and outstretched arms to keep him aloft.

Raven growled in frustration as the edge of Taiyang's windstream rolled into her, the sharp breeze biting at her face like a swarm of fire ants. She lowered herself to the ground in a squat, and then leaped at him, rearing her fist back as she cleared the nearly thirty feet he'd already risen in a bare second.

Taiyang rolled himself out of the way, positioning his windstream to push her even further off course and buy him an extra second or two to prepare something offensive to cast at her. Before he could, though, Raven's form seemed to blur before his eyes, and an actual raven emerged from the cacophony of motion, angled its wings and tailfeathers to better deal with the intense wind he was kicking up, and turned itself around to come at him.

Taiyang's eyes widened as he tried to raise even more wind to push her off course again, but didn't manage enough: even in her shifted form, Raven kept a great deal of her Goliath-born strength, enough to let her cleave through the windstorm and peck at the blonde with her beak. He grit his teeth to keep from screaming in pain as the appendage gouged roughly through his left arm, his windstream scattering the blood that welled from it before he could clamp his hand over the wound.

She had a hard time recovering after the impact, too, but still let out a haughty caw as she turned in a broad arc to point herself at him again. Taiyang growled at her, then marshaled enough concentration to tug the wind out from around her wings, removing her ability to generate lift, fly at all, and even glide.

Raven fell in an arc to the ground, but shifted in mid-fall and managed to catch herself on her hands and feet on the street. She glared up at Taiyang again, only for a powerful gust of wind to slam straight down onto her back and knock her belly-first into the road beneath her. When she rose to her feet, she found that her head had been surrounded by a vacuum of empty space once again.

Raven would have growled in frustration if not for the lack of air around her head. She glared up at Taiyang, then jumped up at him again, shifting in mid-leap and beating her newly formed wings heavily while she still could: although her ex-husband had figured that she'd try something like this, he hadn't been able to make the vacuum space keep up with how fast she was going, and stopped concentrating on it the moment he came to that realization.

Taiyang yelped with pain as Raven's talons swiped across his right leg, shearing through his jeans more easily than he would have thought possible and flaying a few inches of skin from him. She made a wide, banking turn again, but her beady eyes bulged with anger when she saw that he'd turned tail and started flying away from her.

"Okay, let's see if this works," Taiyang mumbled to himself, running his hand along the wound Raven had left in his arm as she rushed him yet again. As she neared, he pushed himself from her path with a burst of air – and left a sheet of his blood hanging in her path.

Crashing through the liquid sheen produced a startling display of red and black for a mere instant; after that, Raven tumbled a hundred feet back down to the earth below and slammed hard into the ground, producing a sickening snap when her shoulder struck first. She struggled to rise, both due to her broken wing and due to Taiyang's blood causing her feathers to stick together awkwardly.

She shifted back to her human form and glared up at her ex-husband, the drops of blood splattered over her face making her seem even more ferocious than before. Her eyes only widened with sheer outrage as Taiyang blew her a raspberry – which she heard quite clearly thanks to him manipulating the air currents – and flew away from the residential area they were currently fighting in.

"If that's how you want to do it," Raven growled before she shifted back into her other form. With a heavy shake of her body and her now unbroken wings, she removed some of the blood covering her and took flight in pursuit of her ex-husband.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Dad! We're home!" Ruby called out as she opened the front door and walked in. Yang walked in behind her a moment later, her hands held behind her head almost lazily, only for them to fall to her sides as there was no answering call from within. "Dad?" Ruby called again, confusion quickly giving way to alarmed fear.

"Dad!" Yang shouted as well, raising her voice louder than Ruby easily could. "You here?!"

"His car was in the garage, right?" Ruby asked, turning to look at Yang.

"Y-yeah," Yang said, wrapping her arms around herself as she looked around the house nervously. "Why isn't he here?"

"I'm calling Mom," Ruby announced, pulling her phone out from her jacket pocket and dialing her mother from her contacts list.

"I'll look for him upstairs," Yang said, fighting to keep herself from outright running to the staircase.

 _"Ruby? Do you need something?"_ Summer's voice came through the phone's speakers louder than Yang had expected, making her jump and shoot a fearful glare at her sister for turning it to speaker mode without telling her.

"Yang and I just got home, but... I don't think Dad's here," Ruby said, her voice quaking as she glanced at Yang apologetically before the blonde went upstairs.

 _"What?"_

"His car's here, but... he didn't answer when we got in, like he's been doing. Yang's looking for him upstairs right now, but..." Ruby trailed off, biting her lower lip as Yang reappeared at the top of the staircase and shook her head.

"He's not here!" Yang called down, her fear evident in her voice.

"Did... did he... what do we do, Mom?" Ruby asked, worry making her breath catch in her throat.

 _"Okay. Okay. Get to Kali's house,_ now _. I'll call her to tell her what's going on, so she'll be expecting you. And I'll be there soon, okay?"_

"O-okay," Ruby said, swallowing nervously at the stern tone her mother was using. "I... we'll head there now."

 _"Good. I love you. Both of you."_

"I love you too, Mom," Ruby said, swallowing again as Yang came up beside her.

"Me too, Mom," Yang said.

 _"I'll see you there."_ With that, Summer hung up, announced by a short beep from Ruby's phone.

"I... I guess we're leaving?" Yang asked quietly, looking around the house timidly.

"Y-yeah," Ruby said, just as timidly. Almost instinctively, she reached out and grabbed Yang's hand, squeezing it tightly, as much to reassure her sister as to reassure herself.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Taiyang grit his teeth as Raven's talons scored across his arm again, leaving a ragged series of gashes that bled vigorously. It wasn't the first hit she'd scored since he baited her over to the Harpy district, and he doubted it would be the last.

But at least now he could cut loose.

"Go down!" Taiyang shouted, batting Raven's avian form from the sky with a fist of hardened air. The roughly formed attack dragged her harshly to the ground and slammed her through the roof of a long-abandoned house, sending up a cloud made of dust and slivers of wood. Taiyang didn't just stand around watching, however; he took the time to tear yet another strip of cloth from his jacket and hurried to bind it over his latest injury.

As strong as Raven was, she was fighting more intelligently and sadistically than Taiyang had at first thought. She knew that he couldn't truly kill her with what he'd displayed so far – if he'd been willing or able to form a blade of air, he could have killed her in the first exchange – so she'd decided to take her time and slowly bleed him dry, a decision that was already paying off.

Taiyang's eyes widened as a broken length of two-by-four flew up at him, thrown by his currently hidden ex-wife, and he dodged hastily, flinging himself out of the way with a barely controlled current of air. He forced himself even further to dodge the next, only to be struck in the side by a chunk of drywall and be sent into a nearly uncontrolled spiral down to the ground, the pain dazing him enough to make him lose some control over his power.

Luckily for him, Taiyang managed to gather enough of his wits to reduce the speed of his fall to something more manageable; when he hit the sidewalk, he slid on his hands and knees, grinding skin from both and leaving a smear of blood behind him. He gasped from the pain and rolled onto his back, then grit his teeth as he saw Raven kick open a hole in the building he'd thrown her into and step through it.

"Pathetic," Raven muttered, quietly enough that Taiyang wondered why she'd said it, as it clearly hadn't been for his benefit. She took her time walking towards him as he struggled to his feet, gritting his teeth and fighting against a wave of nausea from the pain emanating from his... everything, really.

Raven would have sighed if Taiyang's next blow hadn't knocked the wind from her, sending her flying back with a compressed blast of wind to the gut. She crashed into another building, though this time didn't go through the wall, instead bouncing off hard and falling to the sidewalk on the other side of the street.

Taiyang let out a sound of his own, halfway between a sigh and a whine, as he saw Raven get back up again. Despite everything he'd thrown at her so far, she wasn't slowing down in the slightest; about the only thing different about her was how dirty and mussed her hair was. He still tried, though, wrapping her head in another layer of vacuum in a feeble attempt to put an end to the battle, only for her to move more quickly than he could make it keep with.

"Damn it," Taiyang cursed under his breath as he took to the sky again, just in time to avoid Raven's lunge. "I'm gonna have to use it, aren't I?"

Raven growled as she saw her ex-husband start flying away from her again, and quickly morphed into her avian form to give chase as he flew towards the heart of the Harpy district.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Oh, thank the gods!" Kali let out in a single relieved breath as she saw Yang and Ruby pull up in front of her house on the blonde's motorcycle. She rushed out to meet them, swiftly wrapping them in a tight hug before they even had a chance to get off. "I'm so glad you two are safe!" she continued, ushering them inside the moment Yang had pulled her keys from the ignition.

"Have you heard anything from Mom?" Yang asked as Kali dragged them inside, then closed and locked the door behind them. Her heart sank in her chest when Kali shook her head worriedly.

"Ghira told me that there's an APB out on Raven, whatever that means," Kali said, shaking her head in frustration this time. "But I haven't heard a peep out of Summer since this whole thing started. Oh, but I'm sure she's fine!" Kali added, rushing her words as she saw the looks that Ruby and Yang gave each other. "You know her!"

"Y-yeah," Ruby said, following Kali as she walked into the kitchen out of little more than instinct. Humans – and Faunus – were herd animals, after all, and Ruby was feeling scared enough and far enough out of her element that those instincts were starting to guide her.

A uncomfortably silent moment passed before Kali said, "How about I make something to eat? You two should go into the living room with Blake. Watch some TV or something, help take your minds off of everything until Summer brings back your dad, okay?"

"Sure," Yang said distantly. She didn't move until Ruby grabbed her hand and started softly tugging her along.

Blake stood up from her seat on the couch the moment she saw them, then cleared the space between them and wrapped them each in a brief hug, never once saying a word. Seeing the state Yang was in, she helped Ruby get her situated on the couch before sitting back down herself.

The three of them, all pressed together shoulder-to-shoulder, sat holding each others hands and watching as the news station Blake had been watching droned on at a nearly silent volume, waiting for anything that could be even remotely related to Taiyang or Raven.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

At the heart of the Harpy district was a fountain, long since filled with dirt. Wolfsbane and windflowers had been planted inside it, flanking a single chaste tree. All were in bloom, providing an array of purpling blues and whites amid the red of the windflowers. The plants had long ago displaced the statue that had stood proudly atop the fountain.

Somehow still intact, the twelve-foot-tall effigy carved from a single piece of quartz lay almost forgotten in the dirt beside it. Magnificently carved feathers draped from long, spindly arms, forming an impression of wings even beneath the layer of earth that had spilled over them, and the talons stretching from its feet looked as sharp and deadly as all the old myths said they'd be. Its face was ugly, its lips protruding from misshapen cheeks and beneath beady, sunken-in eyes; it lacked a nose entirely, inside having a single pair of holes imprinted into the center of its features. It had worn a tunic made from actual silk at some point in its past, but it had rotted away in the passing years, revealing smoothly carved breasts that sagged from its chest and a smooth, featureless expanse between its wiry thighs.

It was this statue, this harpy, that Taiyang fled to, dodging Raven's talons and beak to the best of his ability all the while.

Until the last few feet.

Taiyang had already begun his descent when Raven collided headfirst with his back, knocking the wind from him and sending him into a nearly uncontrolled fall. He hit the ground hard enough to fling dirt up around him, and rolled and slid until the back of his head hit the statue of the harpy with a heavy thunk.

Raven flew to the ground a few feet away from him as her ex-husband lay there dazed, trying to recover from the impact of his head against solid quartz. She morphed back into her Human form as she stared at him, watching him bleed and make pained noises in the dirt.

And then, head still reeling, Taiyang's lips stretched into a smile.

"What are you smiling for?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow as he grinned up at her.

"You know, it's kind of funny," he began, a small giggle escaping from him. "Every jerk I've ever been on the wrong side of has always given me something great, either before or after I ticked them off. You gave me Yang, one of my two precious daughters, before coming back here to kill me years later; Dr. Lang helped patch me up after the Blue Warren cultists beat the shit out of me, despite me breaking up with his daughter only a few weeks beforehand; even little Vincent, back in third grade, helped me learn how to defend myself after I called him a moron. Though I think he just wanted a legitimate reason to beat the shit out of me," Taiyang added, another laugh slipping from him.

"Is there a point to this?" Raven asked, placing a hand on her hip. "Because I have things to do after I kill you."

"I told you a long time ago about how my parents didn't want me, right?" he asked, drawing a nod from his ex-wife. "My parents were planners, always trying to map out every last detail of their lives. They didn't plan for a condom breaking, or for my mother to be unable to get an abortion due to an allergy. The accident, the unwanted – that's the life I lived for a long time. So, I resented the gifts they'd given me."

"Gifts...?" Raven mumbled, frowning at him.

"Yeah. Gifts, as in, plural," Taiyang said, his grin stretching his cheeks painfully wide as the statue began to shift behind him. "From my father, aerokinesis. From my mother, well... have you ever heard of golems?"

The statue rose, its limbs moving as if flesh and blood, dirt and flakes of chipped stone falling as its eyes rolled around in sockets that didn't properly exist. The stone of its body shifted, morphing in tone and coloration until they closely resembled grey-tinted flesh. Its mouth opened as it rolled its head around on its neck, revealing pointed teeth that weren't Human or avian in the slightest. Eyelids that it never had flicked shut, only to reveal green eyes that could be called both beautiful and alien.

With a frightful sort of chittering, the harpy golem reached down, grabbed Taiyang beneath the shoulders, and hauled him to his feet as Raven watched in shock. When she recovered, her eye twitched, and she said, "Do you really think a beast made of stone can stop me?"

Taiyang grinned again, one hand held at the back of his head in an attempt to slow the bleeding. "Maybe, maybe not," Taiyang said. He barked out a single laugh, then said, "But who said I was out of the fight?"

Raven's eyes widened as she felt the all-too-familiar sensation of vacuum forming around her head – and saw the golem launch itself at her at the same time. Raven took a quick pair of steps to the side, only for the harpy's wing-flaps to flare out and catch just enough wind to keep on her path. A stone-like fist rammed itself into her chest and threw her nearly a dozen feet, slamming her into the side of a nearby building hard enough to crack the wood it was made from.

Raven would have growled if not for the lack of air around her head, and her eyes flicked between the golem and her ex-husband, trying to decide if she could take him even with his newly made ally or if she was better off reestablishing the status quo first. Before she could reach a decision, however, the golem started towards her again, its massive size coupled with its proportionally long legs allowing it to clear the distance between them all too quickly.

She raised her arms defensively in front of her as the harpy's fist dove towards her again, catching the blow on her forearms rather than her head; the sheer strength behind it was enough to send her through the wall she was pressed up against, causing asbestos, dust, and slivers of broken wood to rain down around her as she was sent rolling along the floor of the building she now found herself in. Raven rose to her feet, glaring at the approaching golem as her lungs made her ever-increasing need for oxygen known to her.

Raven lunged at the golem and reflexively ducked beneath a defensive swipe of its arm, only to be swept up by its wing-flaps and sent flying once more. Despite internally cursing her reflexes in the moment, she quickly morphed into her avian form before she could hit the ground, using what momentum she could salvage to fly past the golem swiftly enough to momentarily free herself from the bubble of vacuum that had been wrapped around her head.

When she circled around, dodging the rafters in the oversized building – a half-finished library, or maybe a church, she guessed – she saw what Taiyang had made: a two-foot-wide sphere of distorted air that followed after her with the speed of a sprinting hound, more than fast enough to catch up to a normal person's speed but not quite enough to catch her unless she slowed. And yet, Raven felt her heart sink in her chest as she realized that her ex-husband wasn't in the building with her and the golem. It took her a moment, but she realized that this wasn't the first time he'd done something like this, either.

 _Raven sighed as she sank down onto the couch in her apartment, her head aching after yet another long day of working as a cashier. "I need a better job," she mumbled to herself, her eyes half-closed as she wallowed in her frustration. "For the gods' sake, I'm nineteen. I need something that pays better than bagging groceries."_

 _"Well, it's long term, but you could always go to college."_

 _Raven tilted her head back to rest against the back of her couch and give an upside-down scowl to her live-in boyfriend. "Shut up, Tai," she grumbled, feeling her cheeks heat as he grinned at her. "How do you even have that much energy, anyway? Didn't you have school today, and work last night?"_

 _"Easy," Taiyang said, his grin turning into a more comfortable smile as he leaned down, putting his face a bare few inches away from hers. "I'm an aerokinetic, remember? As long as I can breathe, I'll always be able to get a little something back."_

 _Raven made a sound in her throat, not quite a grunt, as she tiredly lifted an arm to pull his head the rest of the way to hers, her lips meeting his in a kiss. "There's your little something," she mumbled, letting go of him and sinking further into the couch._

 _"Ooh, you really want to do this with your friend here?" Taiyang asked, his grin returning for a moment._

 _Raven's confused frown stole it away from him. "What are you talking about?" she asked, making him blink at her. "We're the only ones here."_

 _"No, there's someone in the bedroom," Taiyang said, frowning as he looked over at the door to the room in question. "Wait, if it's not one of your friends, then_ _–" He stopped talking, his eyes going wide as he looked back down at his girlfriend._

 _Raven grumbled wordlessly, getting back up and walking as silently as she could across the carpeted floor, Taiyang only a few steps behind her. Once she made it to her bedroom, she pressed herself up against the wall and slowly leaned to the side just enough that she could look in._

 _When she saw her window open, despite having closed it before she left for work, she knew for certain that her boyfriend was right: there was someone else in her apartment._

 _"Do you know exactly where?" Raven whispered to Taiyang, who nodded his head before replying._

 _"Closet."_

 _Raven nodded, cracked her head to one side, and stepped into her bedroom, her eyes locked onto the figure she saw stooped reaching up for the shelf that was near the top of her closet. With hair so deeply black that it practically shined in what little light came in through the streets, a back that stooped forward no matter how straight he stood, and a layer of stubble that he refused to shave any further, Raven felt her eye start to twitch as she recognized him instantly._

 _"Gods damn it, Qrow," she said, letting out a deep sigh as her brother turned his head to look at her before returning to his examination of whatever had caught his interest in her closet. "Can't you call ahead for once? Or even just use the door like a normal person?"_

 _"Nope," Qrow said, flashing her a quick grin that made his red eyes seem to shimmer. "Too much fun this way, sis."_

The memory flashed by as quickly as it had come, but it gave Raven an idea of how her ex-husband was directing both his golem and his bubble of vacuum. By reading the disturbances in the air in an area he was at least somewhat familiar with, Taiyang could determine the exact positions of everyone around. Unfortunately for her, she also didn't immediately see a way around it, and her wits were a bit too focused on avoiding suffocation and destroying a golem to find a workaround.

So, shifting back into her natural form, Raven took the path she was most accustomed to: brute strength.

Raven dove from the rafters, pushing off of the wooden support beam above her with enough force to put a sizable crack in it as she launched herself at the golem. It raised an arm up, aiming to catch her, but its reflexes – such as they were – were not enough to do more than partially deflect the Goliath off track. Instead of knocking its head off with her elbow, Raven struck the golem's shoulder hard enough to crack it, chips of quartz falling from it and clattering across the stone floor.

The golem let out a pained screech, pitched high enough that Raven couldn't hear it, though it was still painful enough to make her shake her head as she landed on her hands and feet. She rose, wincing, only for her eyes to widen as her ex-husband's vacuum distortion wrapped around her head again. Gritting her teeth and letting out a soundless shout of fury, Raven lashed out with a fist, striking the golem at the small of its back.

And this time, with proper leverage, it shattered the animated statue's waist, sending its torso toppling to the floor. It let out its keening shriek again, though Raven couldn't hear it through the vacuum around her head, only for it to stop once she lifted her heel and brought it crashing down on the golem's head.

She would have taken a breath and paused for a moment to make sure the statue wasn't getting back up, but, with her lungs already complaining about her lack of a proper breath, Raven just turned on her heel and started running at the nearest wall. She crashed through it, left the vacuum behind, and locked her gaze on Taiyang.

He grimaced when he saw her, though he managed to turn it into a pained grin. He'd been finding it hard to focus on anything for the last few moments, and considered his ability to guide his golem and maintain that bubble of vacuum simultaneously with his active radar a miracle. Only a small one, though, because it hadn't been enough. The ground beneath him was slowly turning into a puddle as his blood soaked into the earth, the rich browns and reds only serving to make him look even paler than he actually was.

"In retrospect," Taiyang said, his voice as weak as he looked, "I should've seen this coming."

"How so?" Raven asked, glancing over her shoulder for the vacuum she'd only just torn free from. When it didn't come, she frowned, then turned her gaze back to her husband.

"I know I can't stop you," he explained. "Not much point in using what little time I've got left on something so... unlikely to work. Do you remember back before we got married? That job they wanted me to do?"

"I remember you turning down Salem's offer," Raven said, letting out a small sigh as she stared down at the man she'd broken so thoroughly.

"Yeah, that. You remember why?"

 _Raven felt her eye start to twitch as Taiyang turned on his heel and paced across the living room yet again. As he turned to repeat it once more, she finally broke and asked, "Is this about that offer you got the other day?"_

 _"I can't go through with it," Taiyang said, shaking his head as he continued to pace. "We need the money, but I just can't do it."_

 _"Do what?" Raven asked, her worry, irritation, and curiosity all melding together into a singular mass inside of her that she just couldn't ignore. "Yesterday, you said that someone had come up to you with a job offer. Can you at least tell me what it is, Tai?"_

 _"He said he works for a woman who wants to bring together a bunch of... well, people like us," Taiyang said, giving his girlfriend a meaningful look. "She wants some sort of elite bodyguards or something. He said that we'd be called the 'Six Holy Beasts'."_

 _"What?"_

 _"That's what I said. Apparently she's got specific tastes: air, earth, fire, and water, with metal and wood thrown in to balance things out. The guy who talked to me also said something about extra powers being a bonus, but I don't know if he meant they'd somehow give their 'Beasts' more power or if they just mean that having more powers makes it more likely for you to be chosen."_

 _"Any idea why?"_

 _"No. He didn't answer me when I asked, just told me that he'd be expecting my answer in a few days." Taiyang shook his head fretfully and sighed. "But... I might be able to guess."_

 _"Tai," Raven began, causing him to look at her again. Her eye was twitching again. "What aren't you telling me?"_

 _"I... After I got approached by him, I called a few people and asked them to gather up some information for me," Taiyang said. "Zephyr called me back last night and told me the name of the woman he works for. Have you ever heard of Salem of Cainhurst?"_

 _"No."_

 _"Neither had he, until he did some digging. He managed to find a few pictures of her online, and he said they looked familiar enough to him that he wanted to do some more research, that he'd call me back tonight. He did, and, uh..."_

 _"Tai?"_

 _"He looked up some history book that he'd needed for one of his general ed. classes back in college," Taiyang continued, making Raven frown. "It mostly dealt with what little we know about prehistory: you know, the age of unending dark and what-not. It had a few pictures of some old relics, including a few paintings depicting old gods."_

 _"You can't be serious."_

 _"I wish I wasn't," Taiyang said with a grimace. "I've got the same textbook, so I double-checked. She's a dead-ringer for the woman in a painting more than five thousand years old. You want to know what the title of the painting is?"_

 _"Salem?" Raven guessed, wondering if this was just some sort of elaborate practical joke._

 _"Salem on her Throne," Taiyang corrected her, only to swallow nervously at the look she gave him. "A throne made of bone, with her drinking from a skull."_

 _"And you think she's some sort of immortal being?" Raven asked._

 _"Would that really be so hard to believe?" Taiyang asked in return. "Think about everything we've seen since we came to Yharnum, everyone we met who's got powers and abilities that we've never even heard of before! Who's to say that there isn't anyone out there with enhanced longevity, or even immortality?"_

 _"Fine," Raven said, letting out a sigh as she rolled her eyes. "So, you think that an immortal wants to hire you as a bodyguard. Is that it?"_

 _"Did you forget how I just said she was drinking from a skull while sitting on a throne made of bones?" Taiyang asked. "She's bad news. I can't... I won't be part of whatever it is she's planning. Unless... maybe there's something I can do to stop it. Something we can do, before it gets too far," Taiyang said, suddenly staring at Raven with an intensity that made her feel a little uncomfortable._

 _"What?" Raven asked incredulously, shaking her head at him. "Where'd that come from?"_

 _"Yharnum's already a safe haven for people with powers. People know how to keep each other's secrets, know how to let out enough to stay sane while still keeping themselves out of the public eye," Taiyang explained. "We can make it even better, safe from people who'd want to exploit us. From people like Salem."_

 _"This is just you wanting to become a private investigator with Zephyr again, isn't it?" Raven asked._

 _"No. Well, yeah, but this is serious, Raven. If she's who I think she is, this could end badly for a lot of people."_

 _Raven sighed, shook her head, and said, "Then why are we here? Our powers aren't exactly things that are hard to hide. We could move again, live somewhere else, away from all of this. Or... wait, this is a morality thing, isn't it?" she added, grimacing at the look Taiyang was giving her. "Sorry. You know I still have problems with that sort of thing."_

 _"I know, Raven," Taiyang said, letting out a sigh of his own._

 _"Okay, so you... what, you want to use being a P.I. as a cover for being some sort of local superhero?" Raven asked, genuinely curious as to what her boyfriend's plan was._

 _He smiled tightly at her before he said, "I wish. Violence is... it's not the sort of thing I can handle. Not easily, anyway. No, I just want to help people avoid anything she winds up pulling. I'm hoping that I can become a good enough person in Yharnum that I can hold some sway with everyone here, maybe enough to convince them to avoid her."_

 _"Well, you've managed to convince one person so far," Raven said, giving him a small smile. He blinked at her, then sprouted a wide, cheek-stretching grin that made Raven's smile grow wider at the sight of it._

 _"I love you so much, Raven," Taiyang said, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a long, passionate kiss._

 _"Enough to skip the restraints tonight?" Raven asked once they broke apart._

 _"Only if you want to get on all fours."_

 _"... I'll get the chains."_

"You wanted to keep powered people away from an immortal who planned on ruling the world," Raven summarized, drawing a pained smile from her ex-husband.

"No, Raven. I wanted to do something good with my life. And I succeeded."

"That doesn't tell me why you should have seen this coming," Raven said, almost as if reminding him of where there conversation had been going.

"Because you aren't like most people, Raven. You struggle with concepts like 'good' and 'evil'." Taiyang coughed, a mixture of blood and saliva spraying from his mouth and falling back down onto his lips and chin. "I hate to say it, but it's part of why I fell in love with you back then. Despite having some trouble, you still wanted to be a fundamentally good person, Raven. You worked hard to remember everything Qrow and I tried to teach you, and for the most part you did a damn good job at it until you decided to give it up for nothing."

"For the eighteen million dollars that were in that bank," Raven corrected him, frowning as if baffled that he couldn't understand. "That's not nothing."

"It is when you have to give up everyone and everything you've ever cared about to get it."

"I wouldn't have had to if that damn brat hadn't pulled off my mask," Raven said. She let out another sigh as her frown deepened. "It would've been nice to have that money if everything had gone according to plan. We could've paid for hospital bills, private school, college, and anything else Yang–"

"Don't even say her name!" Taiyang spat at her, startling Raven into silence. "You don't deserve to."

"What was I supposed to do, Tai?" Raven asked, growing more frustrated by the second. "You and Zephyr were still getting set up, and my boss decided to fire me rather than pay for my maternity leave. We wouldn't have had enough money to care for a child, let alone a Goliath who didn't inherit a Steel Soul."

"You. Killed. A. Baby," Taiyang growled out, only to cough again, splattering more blood and spit onto himself. "Just... just tell me one thing," he said, suddenly feeling weak and lightheaded. "Before you kill me, just tell me one last thing."

"What?"

"What are your plans for my family? For Summer and my daughters?"

Raven shook her head. "They're not the ones who cheated on me, Tai. I have no reason to move against them in any way."

"That doesn't answer my question, Raven."

"Then I'll spell it out for you: I plan on leaving them alone," Raven assured him, albeit in somewhat hostile terms.

"Thank you," Taiyang mumbled, his eyes flitting closed for a brief second. Raven stared at him for a moment longer, just watching him breathe, only to realize that he'd sealed a layer of vacuum around her head once again.

She knew what he was doing. Forcing her to act, to make a choice, but she didn't understand what options he felt she had.

So, she took the few steps that still lay between them, raised her leg, and stamped her heel down into her ex-husband's neck.

And through it.

And several inches into the concrete beneath him.

Bone crunched and flesh tore beneath her foot, blood splattering her boot and filling into the newly made hole her stomp had made. It took a strong tug to free her foot from the concrete, one that sent Taiyang's head rolling nearly a foot away.

As Raven moved to turn away from him, her eyes spotted the ring he wore on his left hand. A simple band of silver, as opposed to the gold she'd slipped over his finger during their wedding. The sight of it brought back a slew of memories, but one in particular stood out in her mind.

 _"Never thought I'd see you wearing a dress, much less a white one."_

 _Raven sighed as she glared at her brother without turning, thanks to the full-body mirror set in front of her. He was wearing a fairly basic three-piece suit, which wasn't much different than what he usually wore._

 _Unlike his sister's attire. Raven herself could barely understand the person she saw in the mirror: she had her figure, and her hair, and her eyes, but she was wearing a lacy white dress that cupped her bosom, hugged her midriff and hips, and nearly completely covered her legs with a broad, bell-shaped skirt. The woman in the mirror was even wearing makeup, although admittedly very little._

 _"I never thought I would either, to be honest," Raven replied after a moment, shifting her completely bare shoulders in an attempt to loosen the hold her corset had over her chest. "I suppose it's true that love changes people."_

 _"There's another thing I thought you'd never do: say something positive about love," Qrow said, smiling at her in the mirror. Raven found it odd that he wasn't smirking; he hadn't hesitated in his relentless mocking of her and Taiyang for the past few months, so she wondered why he'd stopped now, today of all days._

 _"It isn't necessarily positive," Raven said as she began examining herself again. "Changes can be for the worse."_

 _"You think this one is?"_

 _It took a moment for her to reply, but when she did, she found herself smiling. "No. I don't believe it is."_

 _"That's the spirit," Qrow said dryly, drawing a short laugh from his sister._

 _"Is there a reason you came in here?" Raven asked, still smiling at him in the mirror._

 _"Yeah. It's nearly time."_

 _Just like that, Raven's smile turned sad. She stared at herself and her brother for a moment longer before she turned to face him, staring up into his eyes, the same crimson as her own. "Do you think that they would've been happy to see this, Qrow?" Raven asked, making Qrow adopt a smile much like her own._

 _"Yeah, they would have," Qrow said. "Dad would have been proud to walk you down the aisle himself, sis."_

 _"I... I see," Raven said, closing her eyes for a brief moment before she opened them again. "At least I've got you, though."_

 _"Heh. Not sure if I should be happy to hear you say that or just relieved you couldn't find anyone to teach you how to walk in heels."_

 _"It's rather difficult," Raven admitted, drawing another laugh from her brother._

 _"You ready, sis?" Qrow asked, offering her his hand. "I know I shouldn't be the one to say this, but there's still time if you wanna back down."_

 _"When have I ever backed down, brother?" Raven asked, smirking at him as she took his hand._

Raven stared at Taiyang's body a moment longer, her hands balled into fists at her sides. She swallowed, shook her head, and turned away, denying the existence of the tear rolling down her cheek. Still, she didn't stop herself from glancing back at him one more time.

"Goodbye, Taiyang Xiao Long," she murmured. "For the last time, goodbye."

And then she shifted, took flight, and left him behind.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Hey, sis."

Whitley's intrusion into his sister's classroom during the lunch break hadn't gone unnoticed. Many of the upperclassmen were giving him, and the short young woman at his side, odd looks, though much of that stopped when he approached his sister and said those two words. They were also enough to drag Weiss's attention from where her thoughts had taken her; she shook her head, blinked a few times, and turned to look at her brother.

"Whitley?" Weiss asked, only to yawn a moment later. "What's up? Oh, hello," she added, looking to the young woman next to him. "You're... Neo, right? Ruby's girlfriend?"

Neo nodded her head as Whitley said, "Yeah, that's kind of why we're here, Weiss. Neo said that Ruby had something to tell her this morning, but she's not here today and hasn't been texting us back. And apparently," Whitley added, glancing around the classroom, "her sister isn't here either. Is something going on?"

Weiss grimaced and shook her head. For a moment, it looked like she was struggling to think of what to say, then she sighed, shook her head, and said, "Their father was murdered."

Neo's eyes widened dramatically as Whitley blurted out, "What?"

"Yeah," Weiss said, shaking her head yet again. She sighed again, then said, "Listen, Blake and I are planning on going over there after school today to... to just be there for them, I guess, but Blake's... He was practically her uncle, so she'll probably be... I'm sure Ruby would appreciate it if you two came with us," she finished lamely after trailing off without completing her first statement.

Neo immediately nodded firmly, which made Weiss's lips twitch into a very brief smile.

"That's... fire alive," Whitley cursed, shaking his head. "Yeah, I'll go too."

Weiss did let herself smile at that, though a bit nervously. "Thank you. Blake has enough room in her car, so we won't need to take the bus there. Meet us out front right after school, okay?"

"Got it," Whitley said, turning to leave with Neo in tow. It didn't take them long to get back to their own classroom, nor to fill in their circle of friends about what had happened. Their responses were what one might typically expect: shock, mixed with some horror, pity, and worry.

"That's... not what I expected," Izzy said once Whitley finished filling them in. "I thought it'd be just some stomach bug or something, like Solon's got, not... anything like that."

"That's horrible!" Lilith exclaimed, her eyes wide as she looked between Neo and Whitley.

"Taiyang is... he's dead?" Penny asked, biting her lower lip fearfully. Neo reached out and grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze in an attempt to help her out; of the five of them, only Penny and Neo had actually met Taiyang. Penny swallowed, but returned the squeeze, her worry and fear over someone she'd known being murdered shrinking a tiny amount at the steadfastness of Neo's grip.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Lilith asked, staring at Whitley as if expecting an answer immediately. "With anything? Anything at all?"

"I, uh..." Whitley began, leaning away from her as she leaned towards him across their pushed-together desks.

"We can take extra-thorough notes?" Penny suggested timidly, only becoming aware that she was holding Ruby's girlfriend's hand for an extended period of time when everyone turned to look at her. She released Neo's hand with a blush, and stammered as she continued, saying, "Y-you know, to g-give to her?"

"Good idea, Penny!" Lilith said, beaming at her. "I'm sure she'll be happy to have something else to think about, at least."

"If you take any more notes, Lil, you could double as a stenographer," Izzy snarked at her, making Lilith pretend to gasp in shock.

"Well, I never!" Lilith dramatically exclaimed, tilting her chin so far up in an over-exaggerated gesture of self-importance that her nose pointed at the ceiling. It was enough to draw some weak laughter from the rest of the group, something that made her smile. "That might not actually be a bad idea, though," she mused more seriously. "Maybe I should ask our teachers if I can record their lessons on my phone so Ruby can watch them herself."

That draw a much less weak laugh from Izzy, who couldn't help but grin at the confused expression on Lilith's face. "Never change, girl," she said, bumping her shoulder against Lilith's.

The conversation devolved from there, which made Neo sigh silently. She glanced at Penny, only to see her looking at her as well. The moment their eyes met, Penny blushed again, but she only turned away to write a small note on an errant piece of paper, which she passed to Neo.

 _If you're planning on going to Ruby's today, can I come too?_

Neo looked up at her again to see her staring. With a smile and a nod of her head, Neo invited her along as well.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

A quiet, discontented noise escaped from Emerald's throat as she saw Mercury turn to leave. The two of them had just gotten back to their shared apartment, and Mercury had done little more than drop his backpack and get something to eat and drink before walking back to the door.

"You're leaving already?" Emerald asked, making him pause. "We just got back."

"I know, but Limb wants to take me to some fishing village," Mercury said, shrugging a shoulder. "I don't really get why, but she said I'll understand when I get there. Call me curious, but whatever it is, it might be worth knowing."

"Worth knowing?" Emerald asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"You know, for our job?" Mercury added, raising an eyebrow at her. "Gathering intel and whatnot?"

"Oh, yes, the job," Emerald said snarkily, glaring at him. "The job we're now stuck doing because you didn't want to leave Yharnum."

"If we left, we wouldn't be able to come back," Mercury said simply. "You know why we're here, right? To blend in, talk up the locals, and gather any information that we can to make her take over the town with less work."

"If we left, we'd have to go back to your father," Emerald said. When she saw Mercury stiffen, she smirked at him and said, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"You know the shit he's done to me," Mercury said, glaring at her. "Staying far away from him is the reason I agreed to this damn thing in the first place, but just because I want to _stay_ away from him doesn't mean I'm wrong, Emerald. If we left, no one would trust us. Everyone here would think we're in league with Raven, which, guess what? We are. And you're not a good enough liar to tell people otherwise, which I've never been able to understand, by the way; how can you be such a shitty liar when your power is making illusions?" Mercury continued to rant, barely noticing Emerald paling and shrinking away from him. "You literally have the power to lie to people's senses, so why are you so bad at lying with your words?"

"I... I..." Emerald couldn't form a cohesive counter to Mercury, as distressed as she now was.

"I'll fill you in when I get back," Mercury said, walking out the door before she could say anything else and locking it behind him.

Emerald shut her eyes tightly and fell to her knees, trying to keep herself from crying. Once she realized she couldn't, she wrapped her arms around herself and just stared at the door for several long minutes, desperately wishing he'd come back to her.

"He left, too," she murmured throatily, still crying. "Just like Cinder. They left me alone, just like..."

Fury welled up from within her, momentarily overwhelming her despair. Emerald stood, swept a hand across her face to wipe off most of her tears, and glared at the door.

"I'll show him," she muttered darkly. "I'll gather more information than he ever could, and show Cinder just how much better than him I am. Then she'll never leave me again, and give him to me to let me teach him, and he'll fall in love with me, and never leave me again, either. Especially not for _her_."

She continued her muttering, her emotions swinging wildly yet again as she drifted into one fantasy after another. It wasn't until half an hour later, after she'd microwaved and eaten an early dinner and settled down in front of her computer to read the local news that she realized something: she didn't have any local contacts. She froze, staring at the screen in front of her without really looking at it, and started to worry.

Until she remembered someone who had spoken to her only a few days before.

"Blake Belladonna," Emerald mumbled, opening a new tab in her web browser and starting a basic search for her. "She's been nice to me since we first enrolled at Beacon. Maybe she could..." she trailed off, staring at one of the articles she'd found.

 _Ghira Belladonna New Chief of Yharnum Police_

"She's the..." Emerald began, trailing off again as she stared wide-eyed at the picture of Ghira with his family – including Taiyang Xiao Long and his wife and kids. "Okay, I might have made a good choice," she said, her eyes locking onto the smiling image of Blake in the picture.

After a moment, Emerald realized she'd been staring. Her cheeks heated, and she shook her head violently, then continued reading the article, though she was having a hard time focusing on it enough to actually take in the information.

A new fantasy was filling her mind, one that involved a certain black-haired classmate of hers.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"– and as far as I can tell, Raven Branwen left Yharnum," Velvet said, her arms folded behind her back as she made her report to Roman Torchwick. She had neglected to change after her shift had ended, so she still wore her uniform, an overshirt styled like a corset that lifted her breasts the way a push-up bra might; since she'd worn a tank top beneath it, she was showing off a very generous expanse of cleavage, making her disappointed when Torchwick only glanced at it for a brief moment when she'd entered before maintaining eye contact for the entirety of her report.

"Good," Torchwick said, nodding his head thoughtfully. "It's regretful that Mr. Xiao Long was killed, but at the very least there's one less psychopath on the streets of Yharnum. Is this an indicator that she's no longer working with the Witch of Cainhurst?"

"As far as I can tell," Velvet repeated, blushing at the act she'd been all but forced into. She new for a fact that Cinder had pulled out of Yharnum, save for a few specific assets that had covers to maintain, and the fact that she had to lie to him didn't sit well with her.

Fortunately for Velvet, however, Torchwick just took her blush as a sign that she hadn't been able to find much of anything. "Make sure of it. I'd rather not have to learn they're still here on the news, Velvet."

"Understood, sir," Velvet said, blushing further. After a moment, she added, "If... If I may ask, Roman, what do you plan on doing with his daughter, Yang?"

"For now, we observe," Torchwick said, turning his attention away from Velvet and to one of the myriad of papers on his desk; crime lord he might be, but he also ran a legitimate small-scale shipping company, and that takes quite a bit of paperwork to keep in business. "She knows enough to implicate me, and she lives with a decorated police detective. If she plans on betraying us, there's little we can do but react. Keep an ear open to any police activity that might involve us."

Torchwick chuckled, looking back up at Velvet with a small smile. "Of course," he added, "if she winds up keeping our secrets, we'll have a valuable ally going forward. One who despises her birth mother and would oppose her – as well as anyone she's allied herself with."

"I thought she was a pacifist," Velvet asked, the rabbit-like ears atop her head folding closer to her scalp as she frowned at him.

"There's more than one way to win a war, Velvet, and the one I expect for her is the same one I've asked of you," Torchwick said, making her ears straighten in alarm. "Both Taiyang and his wife worked to support their family, such as it is. With him gone, Yang will no doubt be looking for a full-time job, one that doesn't require her to spend hard-earned money on gas just to keep it. I plan on recommending her to Junior as a potential bartender, and having you train her to gather information."

"Roman?!" Velvet asked, her eyes wide.

"His bar is a natural attractant to the more noticeably seedy elements of this city," he said, turning back to his work. "Having two different people working different shifts will enable me to gather considerably more information without overworking my own 'employees'. What's more, she'll be grateful for the opportunity to make additional income. I imagine you'll be able to teach her how to more efficiently encourage tipping, too," Torchwick added, glancing pointedly down at Velvet's exposed cleavage.

She blushed, but not from shame: she was happy that he was finally looking, paying attention to her body, even if only in reference to her teaching someone else. "Y-yes, sir," Velvet said, bowing her head in such a way that it made her breasts bounce in her top. "How long should we wait?"

"One month, or until she approaches me demanding a raise. Whichever comes first."

"Understood, sir."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Hey! Part one is finished!

I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, because it's far from over. However, the end of this part means that it's time for this story to go on a short break.

Part two will be considerably more of what I promised at the beginning of this story, namely a Crime Drama, rather than the slice-of-life thing that part one became. There will be more in-depth combat scenes, too, similar to (but hopefully better than) the Raven vs. Taiyang spectacle in this very chapter.

Until this story starts up again, if you're feeling the need to read more of my work, I am still rewriting Fallout: Remnant. It's slow going (mostly because I've evidently decided to double or triple the lengths of certain chapters), but the rewritten chapters are considerably better than the originals, at least in my opinion.

In addition, I also have a new, non-RWBY story, the first chapter of which is already out if you're reading this. Tempered Steel, a Naruto story, makes a few changes to the conventions, some of which I've seen before in other fanfictions. The characters become Genin at 16 rather than 12, the demons in the story are part of massively large breeds rather than being utterly unique individuals, and I'm completely ignoring some of the later plot elements of the series. What's more, since the gender ratio of Naruto has men as the majority, the majority of homosexual relationships in Tempered Steel will be male/male, rather than female/female; if that's more interesting to you than anything else... no, I shouldn't judge. Though representation in media is growing, it's still not quite equal, and many might use that as a selling point.

That got weird. Weird how it usually gets weird around here, isn't it.

Anyway.

 **This story will resume on June 1, 2018.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Reminder: if you would like to skip straight to the story, skip to the first set of X's, which have been bolded for your convenience.**

I said this would be back come June 1st, and it is! Odd that it's a Friday, though; I didn't plan _that_ out.

I'm sure if you've been eagerly anticipating this story, you've already skipped this AN and moved to read the chapter itself. Which is a good thing, because I have nothing worth saying up here! Well, maybe one or two things.

The first chapter of this story was fairly simple: "Follow Ruby on her first day of high school." There were few deviations from that, but those few were fairly short scenes compared to the rest of that chapter's.

So, let's try this again: this chapter is "Follow Ruby on a weekend." Again, there are a few deviations, mostly towards the end of the chapter, but that's just because I can get away with that due to this story not being in first-person. Plus, it's useful to know the goings-on with the villains of this story. Well, "villains".

You'll see.

Otherwise, please note: **This chapter takes place about 20 months after Chapter 7**.

Additionally, since it's been a while since I last posted a chapter of this, here's a quick recap of some important things, sorted somewhat randomly:

1) There will never be any lemons. I don't like writing that sort of thing, and it's against this site's rules to post them here.

2) Beacon is a High School in Yharnum (yes, this is building into a more true crossover with Bloodborne, but once that becomes more prominent I'll flag this story as complete and start posting the rest of it in the Crossover section on this site), and uses a three-year system (much like Japan's) rather than four-year system (which is what the US uses).

3) Neo is in Ruby's class and is effectively mute due to a shard of glass that's been lodged in her throat since the car accident that killed her parents. Neo is also dating Ruby.

4) Raven murdered Taiyang in chapter 7. I had some fun writing that scene.

5) This series was originally billed as being part crime drama, and that will make a comeback in this part (Part, not Chapter; this chapter's more of a summary of how things are different now). Read the bit with Cinder in it to learn how.

6) Supernatural elements are present. Mostly, this takes the form of people having special powers, mostly things like pyrokinesis or super-strength. Yharnum is a place where many of them have gathered, but that's due to deeper supernatural elements that haven't been covered yet in the story (but that anyone who's played Bloodborne can likely guess at).

Okay, I think that's everything important. Enjoy!

 **XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

"Excuse me: do you know where I can find Jingyi Zhang?"

Hearing the question made Ruby Rose perk up slightly, her eyes leaving the textbook open in front of her and drifting to look out the diner's window. A red blouse, black trousers that fit snugly around her hips and legs, and her school uniform's blazer; even on a Sunday, it was enough to keep from drawing suspicion in the seedy neighborhood she'd gone to, despite the bright red accent that her black hair held. Her silver eyes narrowed as she caught sight of the woman who'd spoken, as well as the group of men she'd spoken to.

The woman was barely older than Ruby, though she didn't look it; years of paying for drugs with sex would do that to a person. Orange-red hair, greasy and flecked with grime. Unnaturally pale skin, and quite a bit of it; Ruby took a sip of her coffee to hide her wince at the overly revealing, jaguar-print ensemble that the woman wore, and at the sight of her skin so tight around her ribs.

"Who's asking?" one of the men asked. He seemed the most intelligent of the trio; whereas his companions were ogling the woman's exposed flesh, he was checking her over for any concealed weapons and placing his hand close to the bulge in his left pocket.

"Someone who," the woman began, licking her lips fearfully, though the two lustier men took it quite a different way. "Someone who has business with him."

"Go find a dealer, lady," the wary man asked, almost absentmindedly thumping his companion over the head when he started to reach for her.

"Hey!" the second man growled, glaring up at the first with hatred in his eyes. Given their difference in height - nearly a foot of difference between them - he had to crane his neck pretty far back.

"The boss doesn't make deals himself," the first man continued, ignoring his companion's glare.

"For this, he already has," the woman said. She coughed, then looked around suspiciously. "He asked for me specifically."

"Ah, you're that woman, huh?" the first man asked, smacking his subordinate again when he tried to get handsy with her again. "She's under the boss's protection, Guanyu. Try to touch her again and I'll gut you myself." The second man growled, leaned his head back to glare up at the dark clouds steadily filling the sky, then let out another sound halfway between a growl and a sigh. "Good," the first man said, gesturing for the woman to follow him into the nearby alley, which had both a clear view of the street and a metal staircase leading to the second floor of one of the buildings that made it.

Having seen and heard all of that, Ruby stood up, dropped a few bills onto the table to pay for her coffee, and left the diner, making her way to the alley three blocks away. The two remaining thugs moved to block her path instantly, and, viewed up close rather than through air bent to magnify sight and sound along a narrow path, Ruby couldn't help but feel disgusted by the sweat covering their faces and soaking through the shorter one's shirt.

"Let me through," Ruby said sternly, adjusting her purse idly. It was small enough that it could really only hold her wallet, phone, and keys, but she preferred it - especially for situations like this one. "Or do I need to report you to Zhang?"

The shorter one let out a guffaw, his beady yellow eyes narrowing with lustful glee as he looked over Ruby. "Like you could ever even know our names, girl. Now, how's about you and I have some fun?"

"Guanyu," Ruby said, her voice harsh and full of annoyance. The man froze and straightened, then let out a nervous laugh.

"She knows my name!" Guanyu said, fear flickering briefly in his eyes. "Did you hear that, Yan? She knows my name!" He laughed again, then, his smile returning, said, "I'll bet you don't know his, though."

Ruby just stared at him for a moment, her mind racing to determine whether he was really stupid enough to think that he hadn't just said his partner's name, or whether he was clever enough to say a different name in an attempt to throw her off. Finally, she realized exactly what she could say to move things along.

"If his name isn't Yan, I'm going to rip open your chest and suffocate you with your own lungs," Ruby said, flexing her hand and loudly popping the tension out of her knuckles. Guanyu paled, swallowing fearfully.

But then the other man - Yan, apparently - stepped between the two of them and raised his hand, palm facing Ruby.

Anywhere else in the world, she would have taken it as his attempt to keep things from escalating any further.

But Yharnum was a special kind of city, with a special kind of people.

So, before she could let Yan do anything, Ruby jumped as high as she could.

By the time the water flowed from the puddles around them and skewered through where she'd been standing, she was twenty feet up.

"Damn it," Ruby mumbled, staring down at the two startled thugs as she reached the apex of her jump. "I was hoping we'd get through this without me needing to kick your asses," she declared, still hanging in midair as she cracked her knuckles menacingly.

Guanyu chuckled, giving her a greasy grin as he brought his hand up, pointing a single finger towards her. At first, Ruby just thought he was trying to make some grand gesture.

But then his finger bulged grotesquely, expanding as it filled with a viscous black fluid that popped the skin in a few places. It continued to swell, until the base of the newly grown forty-foot-long tentacle enveloped his hand completely.

"Gross," Ruby complained, unable to tear her eyes from the oddly pulsating morphic appendage. Her disgust was plainly written on her features, which only seemed to embolden Guanyu, who grinned again as he lashed out with the tentacle as if wielding a whip.

Ruby dodged easily enough, owing to her own aerokinesis more than any combat training - avoiding a slow-moving thin line was fairly simple when you were used to flying in enclosed spaces. That the tentacle moved to chase her, showing off that it was prehensile, mattered little to her.

With fluid, practiced motions, Ruby drew out a small stick-style lighter from her purse, more suited to lighting candles than cigarettes. Another motion flicked off one safety, depressed another, and placed her finger over the device's trigger. When Guanyu's tentacle swept towards her again, far faster than it had before, Ruby squeezed the lighter's trigger, producing a small blue flame.

Which then expanded into a plume nearly three feet wide when she threw some hyper-oxygenated wind through its path.

Whatever the black fluid Guanyu's change had been catalyzed with, it was evidently flammable, judging by the way his tentacle burst into flame when it touched Ruby's impromptu fireball. He shrieked with pain as the flame raced along his tendril, and frantically slammed his other hand down on its base. With a loud wet sound, not unlike stirring macaroni, the base burst grotesquely and slid off his arm, revealing a hand that had been drenched in the odd fluid.

The blazing tentacle lay limply on the ground, and Ruby pointed her lighter at Guanyu's companion, Yan. With another squeeze and a stream of compressed air, she sent a line of flame down at him; with a single motion of his hand, water raced up from the puddles nearby and intercepted it, producing a rush of steam that gusted around him.

When Yan felt something strong and hard against his leg, he looked down, eyes wide with alarm, and saw a length of concrete as wide as his arm coiling up around his leg like a snake. A throaty chuckle brought his attention to another young woman who'd appeared at the alley's mouth, her bright blue eyes and platinum blonde hair shining eerily in the light produced by the lingering flame.

The hydrokinetic flinched as the concrete wrapped around his leg rose up around him nearly faster than his eyes could track, not stopping until it had covered his legs completely and worked its way up to his waist. He lifted a hand towards her, only for it to be dragged back down by a length of concrete branching off from the bulk of it; though his hand wasn't strictly necessary for his control over his element, the message was clear, and he bowed his head to the newcomer in a gesture of submission.

Ruby dropped back to the ground, wind gusting out from beneath her as she landed as softly as her talent would allow. Guanyu backed up a step, glanced at his partner to take in the sight of what had happened to him, and bit his lower lip in fear as she took a few steps toward him.

"Tell me about your boss," Ruby demanded, lifting her hand and directing her palm towards the greasy thug's face.

"I-I'll never t-tell!" Guanyu declared, trembling as he took another step back and pressed his back against the wall behind him.

Ruby let out a sigh, and flexed her hand, making Guanyu flinch - but, this time, it wasn't from fear. A thin line had been etched into his cheek, just barely deep enough to draw blood, and only that deep from the side farthest from Ruby. He lifted a shaking hand to feel at his cheek, at the blood slowly dribbling down to his chin, and let out a gasp as he turned his widening eyes back to her.

"Do you understand now?" Ruby asked, flexing her hand again. Guanyu flinched again, but Ruby hadn't formed a blade from the air this time; it was purely fear driving his reaction. "Just in case you don't, I'll ask again: tell me about Jingyi Zhang."

"O-oh, shit," Guanyu mumbled, shaking against the wall behind him. "I-I can't! He'll... he'll kill me!" Ruby's only reaction to that was a sweet smile and another flex of her hand, which made Guanyu yelp. "Okay! Okay! I... I..."

Before he could come up with a coherent statement, a black shape darted out from behind him and lunged at Ruby. Recognizing it as another tentacle only after it slammed into her shoulder and knocked her to the ground, Ruby growled at both the pain and the embarrassment she felt at getting hit. Rolling with the blow, Ruby planted her feet beneath her and rose into a crouch, hands held in front of her defensively as she glared at the thug.

Guanyu stood stooped, his body nearly horizontal as his newly grown tail pushed his balance to the extremes. Having extended from his spine rather than from a single digit resulted in the tentacle being bulbous and deformed, due to the bones within it more closely resembling vertebrae rather than phalanges. It was quite a bit shorter, only half as long as the earlier hand-grown tendril had been, but it ended in a fat, blunted tip reminiscent of a hammer's head.

"What the fuck?" Ruby asked under her breath, brow furrowing as she tried to recall any other powers she'd come across or heard about that even remotely matched what Guanyu was displaying. "What are you?"

He just gave her another greasy grin, then sent his tail's hammer-like head onto the roof of the building behind him. He jumped just over a foot into the air, letting his tail's grip on the top of the wall drag him over it and onto the roof.

Ruby growled under her breath, and made to jump after him, only for the her geokinetic ally to put a hand on her shoulder. The injured one, making her let out a hiss of pain.

"Calm down, Rubes," she said, rolling her eyes at the scowl Ruby gave her. "He's not who we're after, remember?"

"I know, just-" Ruby began, only to clamp her teeth over a groan as she tightened her grip on Ruby's shoulder. "What the fuck, Izzy?"

"You feel that?" Izzy asked. "That's your body telling you to stop before you go too far. Don't let your frustration get you killed."

Ruby let out a growling huff of annoyance, lightly smacked Izzy's hand off of her shoulder, and folded her arms over her chest. "Fine," she grumbled, turning her smoldering glare on Yan. "You interrogate him," she commanded, making Izzy let out an annoyed sigh. "I'm gonna go check on her."

"Whatever," Izzy said, rolling her eyes again.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Are you sure that's how you want to play it?" Jingyi Zhang asked, raising an eyebrow at the somewhat emaciated woman in front of him. With golden hair, scarlet eyes, and a vaguely present musculature readily apparent beneath his jeans and tank top, his appearance was distracting to her; he resembled someone she'd known for quite some time now.

"It is how it is," she said, flashing a thin, coy smile as she drew a card from the deck she held and set it face down on the table between them. "The Tower in reverse, with Death in attendance and under the gaze of the High Priestess... Knowledge you hold will evoke a ruinous change in your life." She flipped over the card she'd just set down. "The Fool in reverse. Antagonist. Your enemy."

"Oh? And who, precisely, is that enemy?" Zhang asked, seemingly amused by the woman's description of events.

The woman shook her head, then picked up the cards gently, one by one, and shuffled them back into the deck. "I would need to perform another reading to determine that," she said, her voice trembling nearly as much as her hands were. "But... but I..." She was unable to complete her sentence, as she couldn't help but do something that surprised both Zhang and his subordinate.

She laughed.

High-pitched and squeaky, she laughed hard enough that tears swept down through the makeup she was wearing, revealing smooth, unblemished skin. Her green eyes lit up, excitement and wary anxiety warring within them. "I think you should just ask her," Penny Polendina said, smiling amicably as she inclined her head to the window behind Zhang.

"What?" he asked, turning to look - only for the window to shatter, blown to pieces by a gale of compressed air.

"Get down!" Zhang's subordinate shouted as he extended a hand to the still airborne shards of glass. His eyes flared with dark orange light for a brief moment, and a roughly cube-shaped distortion appeared in the air around the glass, which hung suspended, frozen in midair.

"Ooh, what are _you_?" Penny asked curiously as she tucked her deck back into her purse. "Some sort of time-based kinetic? That's so cool!"

Before he could answer, a blast of compressed air slammed into his knee like a hammer, driving a gasp of pain from his lungs and causing him to fall to the ground. "Creme," Ruby said admonishingly as she casually entered through the broken window, causing warmth to fill the pyrokinetic's cheeks. "What have we talked about regarding interrogating our enemies?"

"Wait until they're broken and bleeding, sir!" Penny exclaimed cheerfully, her smile turning into a full-blown sadistic grin as she lifted a hand towards Zhang's subordinate. Blue and white flames flared to life around her fingers, bathing her face in an eerie, flickering light and making her green eyes truly a terror to behold. "Wait," she added after a moment, her grin disappearing as she peered inquisitively over at Ruby. "My powers would cauterize wounds shut, wouldn't they? So how can I leave them bleeding? Or broken, for that matter?"

"Creme!" Ruby shouted, her own cheeks heating. With an offhanded gesture, she sent another hammer-blow of wind at the door, slamming it shut just as Zhang reached out a hand for it in his attempt to sneak out while they were distracted. "Just get back to fighting!"

"Yes, sir!" Penny exclaimed, chuckling nervously. Returning her attention to the Zhang's subordinate, who'd been watching the exchange with a baffled expression, she blushed further and mumbled out something incoherent and apologetic.

"Now then," Ruby said, cracking her neck to one side as she turned her gaze to Zhang himself, "you have something I need, Jingyi Zhang."

"Oh?" Zhang asked as he raised an eyebrow curiously, his demeanor unchanged despite everything that had happened so far. "And what, exactly, would that be, little girl?"

"Information regarding the whereabouts of Raven Branwen," Ruby said bluntly, driving up Zhang's other eyebrow.

"And what makes you think I'd have that information?" he asked.

"You're the latest attempt the Cainhurst Families have made at muscling into Yharnum," Ruby said. "The latest pseudo-cult recruiting powered people for whatever your master wants to do with them. And last time they came here in force, they brought in Raven Branwen as extra muscle. So, I'll ask again: where is she?"

"Then I'll ask again: what makes you think I'd know that?" Zhang countered, chuckling under his breath. "Assuming for a moment I was part of the same Family that made such a blatant, overplayed move, why would _I_ , specifically, know what happened down to the brass tacks? Or where a sub-contractor went after running off to do something as petty and personal as kill her ex-husband?" When he saw the almost smug look on Ruby's face, he merely rolled his eyes and added, "I know what you're thinking, girl, and you'd best reconsider: that debacle made national television, and one of the podcasts I listen to was talking about it for weeks. Rather annoying, really. They typically review video games."

"Great. I'm _so_ moved that my father's death inconvenienced you," Ruby growled out, making Zhang's eyes widen.

Thoughts flicked through his head rapidly, and he quickly realized exactly what manner of threat he was facing: one he couldn't talk his way out of.

Or, rather, one he'd have to talk his way out of _twice_.

"My apologies," Zhang said, inclining his head so far that he couldn't see her any more. "If I had known you were his daughter, I would not have said such a thing."

"Tell. Me. Where. She. Is," Ruby spat out, word by word.

"As I said, I don't know. Honestly," Zhang said, lifting his head again so she could meet his eyes. "But I do know which Family hired her, and the names of a few of their assets. I'm willing to give them to you in exchange for one thing. Technically four things," he added after a moment of thought.

"What?" Ruby asked. Her anger had diminished quite a bit, though she felt mildly annoyed that she was falling for Zhang's charming voice. She truly wanted to still be infuriated at him, but found that she simply couldn't; after all, he was giving her what she wanted.

"I and my three immediate subordinates are set free from this," Zhang said, his odd phrasing making Ruby pause for a moment to parse his statement. "We will not act in the interests of my Family in this city, even if we should come here again."

Ruby stared him down for a moment, then sighed and grumbled under her breath. "Fine," she said, glancing over at the subordinate whose name she didn't know. "Tell me everything you know. Names, hideouts, where they keep their money. Everything."

"Done," Zhang said, bowing to her.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"I told you it'd be easy," Izzy said, arms folded behind her head as she walked with Ruby and Penny, who'd changed into a more socially acceptable outfit. She sighed, smiling up at the still dreary sky, and added, "Nothing brightens up my day like kicking some two-bit thugs out of town."

"I don't know," Ruby said, scowling at the sidewalk in front of her. "It feels wrong."

"I'll let him know about the way things went down when I go to work tonight," Izzy said, rolling her eyes.

"Shouldn't you be studying, Izzy?" Penny asked, giving the platinum-blonde a side-eyed look.

"I can do that while I'm there. It's not like guarding a warehouse takes up a whole lot of brainpower."

Ruby sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she looked at the two women to either side of her. "How can you two accept that so easily? He just gave up. No fighting, no struggling, nothing! People don't do that!"

"They do if they think they can't win," Izzy pointed out, making Ruby sigh and shake her head. "You busted through his two doormen and locked him in a room with an aerokinetic and a pyrokinetic. Whatever powers he and his flunky had, they probably didn't want to risk getting barbecued."

"As much as I don't like agreeing with Izzy," Penny chimed in, making the woman in question chuckle, "I think I do. It's possible that he assessed a tremendous threat to his life and gave us the information we asked for in an attempt to preserve it."

"Why, though? Why would he think that a couple of high school girls would be that much of a threat?" Ruby asked, still scowling.

"You've been in Yharnum longer than me, Ruby," Penny said, given the obviously annoyed young woman a small smile. "I think you can answer that better than I can."

"Not to mention the fact that you haven't exactly been low-key this last year," Izzy pointed out, making Ruby sigh again. "I think most of the underworld knows who you are and who you're looking for at this point."

"Great," Ruby said - sarcastically, in case you couldn't tell. "So now a whole bunch of thugs and drug dealers know that I want to kill my half-sister's mother. Wonderful."

"It's... an odd goal, to be sure," Penny said gently, laying a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "But also an understandable one. I'm sure most of them are actually trying to gather some information on her at this point, just to have something to give you in case you come after them."

"Like a weird version of Batman, only without the gimp suit," Izzy said cheerfully. "And we're Robin and Batgirl."

"I should hope not," Penny said, shooting a quick scowl at Izzy. "Most of them wind up dead or crippled."

"And they don't have powers, either," Izzy noted agreeably. "I should've gone for an X-Men reference or something, I guess." After a moment, she added, "I'm Batgirl, by the way."

"Not a chance," Penny said, rolling her eyes.

"Uh-huh. Taekwondo, remember? My legs are fine as hell, and they'd look great in spandex. But your butt's better, so you get those tight little booty shorts, Penny," Izzy claimed, grinning as the redhead blushed and ducked her head.

"Okay, enough of that," Ruby said, letting out yet another sigh. "I swear, if you two keep acting like that, I'll start spreading rumors that you two started dating."

Penny sputtered incoherently at that remark, but Izzy's grin widened, even as her cheeks turned bright red. "Only way to keep that from happening is to keep them from being just rumors, right?" she asked teasingly, only making Penny even more incoherent.

"N-no!" she finally managed to exclaim, her green eyes wide. As Izzy laughed, Penny calmed herself down enough to glare at the platinum-blonde and ask, "Aren't you straight?"

"Yep!" Izzy said cheerily, still chuckling.

Ruby groaned, coming to a stop and cradling her head in her hands. "If I have to hear another minute of this..." she mumbled, shaking her head.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop teasing her," Izzy said, stopping once she realized Ruby had. "Geez. You make one joke... okay, several jokes, but still!"

"Let's just meet up with Adam and fill him in, okay?" Ruby asked, scowling at Izzy.

"Fine, fine," Izzy mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"Same place as usual, right?" Penny asked, more to keep the conversation flowing than out of any forgetfulness on her part.

"Yeah. His usual bench in the park."

Right as she said it, Ruby passed beneath the broad wooden sign proudly proclaiming Hemwick Forest Park. Full of pine- and leaf-bearing trees alike, the forest could easily look like it was taken out of a nightmare at night, but enough daylight streaming through it could make it look almost pretty. Usually. On a dreary day like this one, though, the shade cast from the trees took on a somber tone, one that filled children and adults alike with the feeling that someone was behind them, watching them.

Following them.

Ruby shook her head, both to clear the thoughts and the feeling from it, as she strode purposefully to the southernmost section of the park, Penny and Izzy right behind her. There, they found the former soldier lounging lazily, a book held in one hand. The crunching of leaves and pine needles being crushed underfoot drew his metal eyes away from his book, and he smiled as he saw them.

"Good morning, ladies," Adam Taurus said, glancing down at his watch only briefly. "Any later and I'd have said good afternoon. Was it more difficult than expected?"

"Not really. The tactic you suggested worked out pretty well," Izzy said, drawing a chuckle from him.

"Glad to know I didn't waste my time in the army," Adam said, folding the corner of one page as he set his book down. "So, what'd he know?"

"He wasn't part of the family that hired her," Ruby said, practically growling the words; she was still frustrated that he'd been almost worthless to her vendetta. "He was just out here to recruit powered people, not to take over the big guy's business, and he's planning on skipping town with the people he convinced to tag along."

"Damn. Anything worth knowing?"

"Just the specific Family that hired her, which isn't useful to me at all," Ruby grumbled, folding her arms over her chest. "Not like I can go after them, or like she'd be there at all."

Adam chuckled, drumming his fingers against his book. "I meant that the boss would want to know, Ruby."

"Oh, right. Yeah. We got him to talk about where he kept his money, where his hideouts are, stuff like that. He's got at least three goons, though, so I bet most of them will be cleared out before the big guy can get to them," Ruby said, handing him a folded piece of paper. "Addresses, what they were used for, and what's in them. You want us for the sweep?"

"Nah, you've earned your paychecks already," Adam said, slipping the paper between the pages of his book. "Expect the envelopes at your dead drops by tomorrow morning."

"Got it," Ruby said, turning to leave.

"Oh, and tell Blake I said hi, Ruby."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

After finishing their business in the park, the three young women hopped into Ruby's car, an old SUV that she'd managed to finish paying for after less than a year. With a little help from Whitley, she'd gotten it working well enough to make it pass a smog check and let her use it to get her driver's license. Dropping off her classmates at their homes - or apartments, in Penny's case - was quickly becoming a routine for Ruby, and she'd already managed to learn the quickest routes from each of their homes to each other and to hers.

She parked against the curb, since she knew her mother would be coming back from work before she'd need to go out again. As old a model as the car was, she had to lock the doors by hand, something that never ceased to annoy her and made her strongly consider splurging on what she'd need to install electronic locks, and when she'd finished she headed for the front door.

"Yang! I'm home!" Ruby yelled out once she'd closed it behind her.

"Up here!" her half-sister called back, letting Ruby know she was up in her room.

After a quick trip to the bathroom, Ruby walked into Yang's bedroom, a tired smile instantly appearing on her face when she saw the blonde grinning at her, webcam in hand. She wore an old tank top that bore more than a few stains of different colors, as well as a pair of baggy cargo shorts, as a concession to the early summer heat; from the lack of extra straps over her shoulders, Ruby could guess that she'd given up on wearing a bra for the same reason.

"Good morning."

"Good evening."

"Good afternoon," Ruby replied to the two faces displayed on the bulky monitor Yang had on her desk. It was routine at this point - Blake and Yang insisted, though Weiss found it nearly as tiring as Ruby usually did.

"Did you work early today, Ruby?" Blake asked, her voice sounding somewhat robotic through the speakers; though Yang had bought a large monitor for her computer, it lacked built-in speakers, and she'd resorted to plugging it into her phone to use its speakers in a way that Ruby found baffling on several levels.

"You could say that, yeah," Ruby said, taking her seat in the extra chair Yang had set up just for these sorts of calls. "Adam says hi, by the way. How's Vacuo been, Blake?"

"Oh, you know. Sandy," Blake said, laughing a little. She wore a broad-rimmed straw hat that covered the feline ears poking through her long black hair and gave her some relief from the sun. Her thin, sand-colored, long-sleeved blouse had several buttons open, revealing a display of cleavage that Ruby wasn't used to from the Faunus. Though she was clearly sitting at a table somewhere, likely a restaurant with an outdoor section, all that Ruby could see past her was desert. "People here tend to be a bit kinder than in Mistral, though, especially to backpackers."

"I'm glad to hear that," Ruby said, smiling at her godparents' daughter before turning her attention to Weiss. "So. Finals, huh?"

Weiss groaned, her smile immediately dropping from her features. From how damp her white hair was, how flushed her cheeks were, and the fact that she was wearing the big flannel overshirt she'd admitted to sleeping in at some point, Ruby guessed that the Schnee had just gotten out of the shower. It wasn't too surprising to her, though; even though it was only barely evening where Weiss was, she had a tendency to bathe once she'd finished attending class or working for the day, which often led to her being fresh out of the shower during these meetings. "Please, don't remind me," Weiss pleaded, prompting a giggle from Ruby and chuckles from Blake and Yang. "I've been studying for weeks. And I know you have, too, Ruby, so don't make me ask you how you've been doing."

Ruby sighed, shaking her head. "Yeah," she admitted, her smile becoming even more tired. "At least studying with Neo makes it a bit easier. And she's been trying to help me get a better understanding of sign language, too, so we've agreed to be completely silent when studying together. Anything I don't know how to say in sign language winds up written down at least once, so we typically go over everything a lot of different ways."

"That's a good system. I've been doing something similar to that, myself," Weiss said, lifting up a small tablet computer and a stylus. "Drawing the bits of anatomy I'm supposed to be learning helps out a bit."

"Which bits?" Blake asked.

"Shut up, perv," Weiss replied, drawing more laughter from the group. "Speaking of pervs, how's the bar-tending been, Yang?"

"Good segue," Yang said, grinning at Weiss on the screen. "Pervs tend to tip well, so I've been doing pretty well. I managed to fix up my bike off of just what I got from tips."

"I'll bet," Blake said, grinning as she took a sip from her drink. "So, which of us do you think will tip you better when we get back, Yang? Me, or Weiss?"

"Weiss," Yang replied before the Schnee had a chance to respond.

"Hey!"

"What? Rich girl med student can't afford to tip?" Yang asked chidingly, though the broad grin she wore showed she was just teasing. "Yeesh, Weiss, you're breaking my heart."

"I... but you..." Weiss sputtered, only to hang her head and sigh after a moment. "Okay, fine. I'd probably tip better. But not because of... that!"

Yang winced, but nodded her head. "Fair enough."

"So, Blake?" Ruby asked, trying to change the topic to anything else. "You, uh, you said you were meeting people in Vacuo?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Friendly people all over the place here. And here comes one now," Blake added after a moment, rolling her eyes as she looked away from her webcam. "Thanks, Sun."

"Oh-ho, trying to make a call while I was off getting our orders, huh?" asked a voice that made Ruby blink in surprise - she hadn't realized Blake had picked up a traveling companion at some point; a quick glance over at her sister told her that she hadn't known, either. "Mind if I introduce myself?"

"Feel free," Blake said, picking up the tablet computer she was using so its webcam could point at the newcomer. "Say hi, girls."

"Hi, girls," Yang said instantly, prompting a giggle from Ruby and a laugh from the newcomer. He was blonde, tall, and tanned, and wore a white dress shirt with not a single button done, revealing the sculpted abdominals he had. As he waved at the camera, a simian tail darted up from behind him and moved in time with his hand.

"Morning!" the man said. "Oh, wait, it's morning where you are, right? Anyway, the name's Sun Wukong, but just call me Sun, 'kay?"

Introductions followed, with Blake telling Sun who was who. Weiss was awkward and sheepish when she realized that was what happened, not having thought she'd wind up meeting someone while wearing her sleepwear, and Ruby was a bit too tired to properly introduce herself, given how complicated her and Yang's relationships with Blake were, but Yang's energy and enthusiasm managed to make up for it.

And seeing Yang like that brought another smile to Ruby's lips. The blonde had become more withdrawn and antisocial than Ruby had ever been after their father had been killed by Yang's mother, but time and the company of both her friends and the people she called her family had done a lot to get her through it. It had also made her a lot more possessive of the people she cared about, however, so much so that she got mad whenever she didn't know where someone was; given that Ruby was already used to planning out her day at her parents' request, though, she didn't think it was all that different, and Weiss, not being the sort who typically liked going out with people, had an easy time just telling her that she'd be either at school, in her dorm room, or in a cafe or restaurant.

Blake, however, had a much more difficult time adjusting to it. With her Lupus, and her allergies to the pharmaceuticals that could be used to treat it, she never knew for sure whether or not she'd go through a day without needing a trip to the hospital - and, as a result, wasn't happy with the fact that she'd spent such a large portion of her life in one place. It was the entire reason she'd decided to go backpacking through Mistral and Vacuo in the first place. As a result, though, Blake and Yang had found their relationship beginning to strain beneath the weight of the distance between them.

Ruby shook her head once she realized she'd been lost in thought, and refocused on the conversation happening around her.

"For the last time, Yang: no, he isn't my boyfriend," Blake said, scowling halfheartedly into her webcam as the blonde sitting next to her chuckled. "He knows why I don't date."

"Okay, okay," Yang said, also laughing. "Sorry. Couldn't help myself."

"I mean, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to go that way, Blakey," Sun said teasingly, prompting another laugh from Yang. "You are damn pretty, even without your makeup."

"Keep that up and I'll give you to Yang," Blake threatened Sun, making him confused; Yang laughing again only made him more confused.

"Huh? I mean... Why's that a bad thing?" Sun asked, looking between Blake and the tablet computer.

"Yharnum is... a special town," Yang began awkwardly. After a moment, she scratched her cheek and turned to Ruby. "You explain it better than I do, Rubes."

"Yeah, I do," Ruby said, making Yang scowl playfully at her. "Yharnum isn't exactly unique in the world, but it is one of the larger communities of people like us around. I'm guessing by the fact that Blake isn't interrupting me that you have something special going on?"

"He's aerokinetic," Blake chimed in, making Sun pale and look at her with a shocked expression.

"Wait, really?" Ruby asked, leaning in for a second before she realized she wouldn't get a closer look at him.

"Us, too," Yang said, grinning into their webcam as she wrapped an arm around her sister.

"Huh?!" Sun exclaimed, looking between the tablet and Blake. "Wha-... what?!"

"Like Yang said: Yharnum's a special place," Ruby said, smiling and subconsciously leaning further into Yang's embrace. "More people here have abilities than anywhere else in the world. We actually outnumber the normal people. And we've got a higher concentration of people with multiple abilities, too, probably as a result. I've got a super-high metabolism-based healing factor on top of my aerokinesis, and Yang's got unbound strength."

"I have an ability too," Weiss said sheepishly, having returned a minute ago wearing a blouse and jeans. "It's a sort of... hard light... thing. More like magic than the sorts of kinesis you're likely to see. It's why I'm planning on moving to Yharnum permanently once I'm finished with school."

"We actually get a lot of people who come to Yharnum looking to learn how to control their abilities, too," Ruby continued to explain. "One of the girls in my class actually transferred in because she didn't know how to control her pyrokinesis, and her father wanted to give her a safer place to learn. It's why Dad..." Ruby realized what she said and sighed, her smile turning mournful as Yang tightened her grip on her sister. "It's why Dad had her put into my class in the first place, so I could help her practice and learn control without letting her burn anything down."

"I'll tell you later," Blake told Sun in a whisper, her voice coming through the speakers of Yang's computer as little more than static. He'd been about to speak, but evidently thought better of it after what she'd told him.

"So, yeah. That's Yharnum in a nutshell," Ruby finished, shrugging a shoulder. "We still can't exactly go around using our abilities in public or anything like that, but it's a lot safer for us here than anywhere else, really."

"That's... really fucking cool," Sun said. "Say, Blake, when you head back in a couple weeks, mind if I tag along?"

"Not as long as you're willing to buy your own ticket," Blake said, rolling her eyes when Sun grinned at her.

"Wait, you're coming back soon?" Yang asked, suddenly staring at the screen intently. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I was trying to keep it a secret," Blake said, shooting a sideways glance at her companion. "That way I could just... I don't know, call you like this outside your door and just ring the bell and... yeah," she finished lamely, her cheeks turning pink.

"Oh, Blake!" Yang cooed, wearing a genuine smile rather than the grin that Ruby and Weiss had expected. "That's so sweet!"

"Th-thanks," Blake said, giving Sun another scowl. "Uh, s-so... Ruby, Weiss. How's your studying going? You've got finals coming up, right?"

"Didn't we already talk about that?" Weiss complained in a whine, making Ruby giggle at her. "I just want to go a few minutes without stressing out over it, so please stop reminding me!"

"Okay, okay," Blake said, letting out an apologetic chuckle. "So, uh... how's work, Ruby?"

"Oh, you know. Sweaty," Ruby said, shrugging a shoulder. "My coworkers seem okay with me being nearly as good as them, despite most of them being ten years older than me, and Lee is a pretty cool boss - and I'm not talking about his cryokinesis. I get paid pretty well, too."

"Okay, I think I'm missing something," Sun said, glancing at Blake.

"I work as a part-time assistant at a dojo," Ruby explained.

"Oh. Wait, you know how to fight? Why?"

"My mom's a cop, so it's just something that come out somewhere down the line," Ruby said, shrugging again. "Sort of a mother-daughter bonding thing."

"Uh-huh," Sun said. He couldn't help but notice the way Yang's smile turned sour, or the way she gripped Ruby tighter, and glanced over at Blake, who shook her head minutely. "Well, at least your job's cooler than mine was. Stocking shelves sucks, especially when the boss thinks you're a thief just cause you have a tail."

"Wait, what?" Weiss asked, appalled. "Why did he think that?"

"Someone was stealing from the registry," Sun said, letting out a chuckle. "She put me further and further from the registers, and even basically changed my job to janitor, so I think it was pretty obvious. I'd only gotten the job so I could afford to do this, so when I'd saved up enough, I quit." He chuckled again, his lips stretching in a wide grin. "And about a week after I left, I got a text from a buddy of mine. Get this: the thief? It was her daughter, who she'd jumped up to manager."

"Fire alive," Weiss whispered, giggling.

"Oh, yeah. I wish I could've been there to see that go down."

"So do I," Yang chimed in. "Damn, that must've felt great, huh?"

"Damn right."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

The three-way video call lasted for quite some time, but, eventually, everyone bid their goodbyes. Weiss reluctantly went back to studying, Blake and Sun began their journey for the day, and Yang and Ruby decided to have lunch together before Yang needed to leave for work.

"So, how was work, really?" Yang asked after a few silent minutes, making Ruby look up from the oversized sandwich she'd been working through. "I know you weren't scheduled with Dan today. What did Roman have you do?"

"I, uh... It wasn't exactly dangerous," Ruby said, swallowing nervously at the look Yang gave her. "I-it was, uh... Okay, so I had to do a bit of fighting to push out a recruiter from one of the Cainhurst Families," she mumbled, shrinking into her seat as Yang's stare intensified. "B-but it's okay! We did it, and I learned which one hired Raven two years ago!"

Yang sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Ruby, I stopped caring about that woman a long time ago. If she shows up, I'll ram a stop sign through her fucking skull," Yang spat, unable to hide the anger she felt - and revealing her first statement as a lie. "But I'm not going to go looking for her, and I don't want you risking your life trying to find her."

"I'm not looking for her!" Ruby exclaimed, making Yang pause. "I was trying to find out who brought her here, the people who fucked up so hard that they couldn't keep one psychopath under control. And I found out who they are, Yang. The Londals, led by a woman named Salem."

"Stop," Yang said softly, shaking her head. "I don't want to hear it, Ruby. I don't want you to go half-cocked off to fight some of the most powerful people in the world. Dad wouldn't either," she added, making Ruby flinch. "And I don't... I can't..." Yang trailed off, ducking her head. Her bangs covered her eyes easily, but she couldn't hide the way her shoulders shook, nor the tears that dripped down onto the table. "I can't lose you, too."

Ruby swallowed, feeling her heart ache at the all-too-familiar sight. Her sister had been despondent for weeks after their father's death, as she'd lost the one person in her family she thought she'd be able to have by her side for most of her life. Her step-mother and half-sister had conditions that would result in them dying long before her, Blake wasn't expected to see her mid-thirties, and, given how heart disease ran in both sides of the Faunus's family, neither of them thought that her parents would deal well with losing her. Her uncle Qrow was old, Summer's foster father was older... and that was it. Their entire family.

The entire family who, if things fell as they seemed they would, would crumble and die around Yang over the course of years.

"I can't lose you, too," Yang repeated in a whisper, hiccuping as she continued to cry.

Ruby clenched her jaw, and, for a long moment, just watched her sister sob. She burned the image into her mind, then reached out and took her hand, grasping it firmly with both of her own. When Yang looked up, her eyes still filled with tears, Ruby said, "I won't let you lose me, Yang. Not like that. I promise."

Yang choked out another sob and shook her head, looking down at her own knees again. "Then don't go," Yang pleaded with her. "Please, Ruby. Don't go after them like that."

"I won't, Yang," Ruby said. "I promise, I won't go to them looking for revenge. I won't go to them looking for justice. I won't leave town to hunt them down like they deserve." She paused, letting out a sigh as she closed her eyes. "That much, I can promise you."

"Thank you, Ruby," Yang mumbled, her grip tightening around Ruby's own, though not enough to hurt - despite her usual lack of control over her strength, years of Ruby crawling into her bed at a young age to escape her nightmares had caused Yang to develop a subconscious limiter over it for her sister, and only her sister. With Ruby alone, Yang could think of herself as a normal person, without uncontrollable strength, without a mother she'd never met who would kill if it suited her, without any of the complications of her life. "Thank you."

"If they come here, though," Ruby continued, trailing off for a long moment. Yang looked up at her, staring at her sister through tear-slicked eyes. "If they come here," Ruby continued, forcing her silver eyes to meet her sister's violet, "I want you at my side when I go after them, Yang. We'll chase them out of our city, our father's city, together."

Yang let out a rough chuckle, her head ducking again for a brief moment before she lifted it again, her eyes bright. "Together," Yang agreed. "No matter what."

"No matter what."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"That's what they learned, boss," Adam said, his cybernetic eyes seeming to drill straight through Roman Torchwick's head. He'd grown fond of focusing a piercing gaze on the drug lord, despite how dangerous such a thing could be in the long run. "You think she'll go after them?" he asked, narrowing his eyes - not in an attempt to further intimidate Roman, however. Rather, it was worry, held for the young women who'd been nothing but kind to him in the years he was blind. Especially to two in particular, one who'd had the largest role in him regaining his sight, and the other...

He still had the nightmares, made worse by the fact that he'd seen her in reality.

The moon. A sword. Her blood.

"I don't think we need to worry about that," Roman said, snapping Adam back to reality. "She's rather protective of the people she cares for, true, but she won't leave them alone to hunt for revenge. We can exploit that if need be; aerokinetics are rare, even for people like us, and their powers are some of the most varied."

"Exploit is the wrong word, _boss_ ," Adam said grimly, putting a special emphasis on the last word to let the man before him know that he'd need to phrase his next words carefully.

"No, it's the correct one," Roman said, shaking his head. "I know how you feel about her and her friends, Adam, but there's no mistaking what it would be. I don't like it any more than you do, but if it comes down to it, I will do what needs to be done to protect my city and my niece. If that means sending her girlfriend into battle against other powered people, then so be it."

Adam growled, a sound that made Roman raise his eyebrow at the Faunus - he hadn't known the man could do that. "Believe me," Roman continued, "I don't want to do it either. The last thing I want is to send a child to war. But this _is_ a war, Adam, and you know better than I that war demands sacrifice."

Adam growled again, then shook his head and turned his back on Roman. "If any of those four are hurt by this war of yours," Adam snapped, turning his head to Roman's. He trailed off, but, after a moment, he smirked at him. "I don't think I need to say any more."

"No, you don't," Roman said dryly as Adam stalked out of his office. "The nerve of some people," he muttered after a few moments, putting the gun he'd had a tight hold on back into the holster hidden within his desk. He grimaced as he flexed his hand, working some blood flow back into the stiffened muscles.

The sound of something vibrating on his desk nearly made Roman jump out of his chair, but he took a deep breath and calmed himself. "No sense letting him get to me," he mumbled, settling back down and reaching for his phone.

 _Heading to Ruby's now. Probably eat dinner with her, back late. Love you._

The text from his niece made him smile - though, given the recent conversation with the forcibly retired veteran, it lacked much warmth. "Enjoy life while you can, Neo," he murmured softly, fingers going to the locket he wore around his neck - his sister's, her mother's. "For better or worse, things always change."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Emerald was downright giddy as she stared out the window of her apartment, watching the road leading up to it with wide eyes. Today was the day, after all.

"You know, she's not going to show up any sooner just because you're waiting for her," Mercury said without even looking at her. His attention was fixed to the comic book he was reading, and not even the heated glare she threw his way caused him to look up from it.

"Shut up, Merc," Emerald spat at him before turning back to the window.

Their relationship had grown... complicated. Whereas before he'd been one of the few people she'd clung to with all her might, now Emerald could barely stand to be in the same room as Mercury. The fact that the two of them were sharing an apartment seemed nearly intolerable to her, but it was nearly a necessity; their cover was supposed to have them be students at the local college, after all, despite Mercury having dropped out after less than a week and gotten a job at a bar frequented by bikers.

And _her_.

Emerald stiffened as she remembered her. Limbani, or Limb, as she preferred to be called, was the sole survivor of one of Raven's attempts at recruiting for their Family's operation, and hadn't been taken onto the team, but Mercury had wound up taking the biker to a doctor she'd known and then befriending her. Despite his attempts to tell her otherwise, Emerald was convinced the two of them had feelings for each other and refused to see it any other way.

So, believing that he'd abandoned her for another woman - despite their own relationship having never reached the point where that could conceivably happen - Emerald had stopped enjoying being around him, and had even taken to casting minor illusions around him, just to provoke his odd reaction to them and give him a headache.

"Stop doing that," Mercury grumbled, glancing up at her as he turned to the next page. She'd chosen to superimpose the image of one of the more recent people she'd chosen to cling to, which made Mercury let out a deep sigh.

After all, Blake Belladonna was the daughter of the police chief. He didn't like the fact that she'd grown attached to the Faunus woman, mostly because he knew just how precarious his position actually was. He'd chosen to stay in Yharnum for reasons that he hadn't fully thought through, instead trusting his gut to take him where he needed to go to get away from the family he'd been all but born into, and especially his father.

"When's the last time you spoke to her, anyway?" Mercury asked, curiosity welling up within him.

"Which one?"

"Blake."

"A few days ago, over Skype," Emerald said, glancing back to glare at him for a moment. "You would've known that if you weren't working at that bar."

Mercury sighed again, shaking his head. "Don't try to frame me as a bad guy just because I don't spy on you, Emerald. You're the one who started putting distance between us."

Emerald growled at him, using her skill with illusions to get the sound right, then turned away again.

A few moments later, Mercury's phone let out a shrill beep, and he glanced at it briefly. "She's a minute out," he said, turning back to his comic.

"Good," Emerald muttered, still staring out the window.

Two minutes later, a car pulled up to the curb. It was a large, boxy thing, made to seat more than half a dozen people rather than get good gas mileage, and as the door opened and swung to the side, Emerald perked up, her eyes immediately latching onto the pale leg that dipped out and trailing up it to see its owner's face.

When she saw her, she grinned, her eyes sparkling with glee, only for worry to replace both before long. Cinder smoothed out her dress, a tight-fitting piece of red silk that bore numerous gold patterns on its long sleeves and fell only partway to her thighs, and scowled at the person who'd been sitting next to her, then slammed the door shut as the one across from her opened, revealing a head of long, black hair.

Emerald clenched her jaw, fear overpowering her as she recognized the other woman. Though, wearing a tight black dress and open-toed shoes with four-inch stiletto heels, the Goliath looked much less intimidating than Emerald remembered.

"What's Raven doing here?" Emerald asked softly, backing a few steps away from the window in an instinctual attempt to not let the predatory woman see her.

"What?" Mercury asked, immediately standing up and walking to the window's side. "Shit, really?" he mumbled as he looked. "Why the fuck was she brought back on?"

"How should I know?!"

Before they could start arguing in earnest, the doorbell to their apartment rang, producing a loud buzzing sound that startled the two of them enough to make them jump. Emerald and Mercury stared at each other for a long moment, as if wondering if the other was going to make them do it; finally, though, Emerald caved in and went to the door.

"Good afternoon, boss!" Emerald exclaimed as she unlocked it and tugged it open, putting some extra enthusiasm in her voice. She did feel it, of course, but it was curbed somewhat by the electric fear racing through her at the sight of the red-eyed woman behind Cinder.

"To you too, Emerald," Cinder replied as she entered, her voice tight with impatience and annoyance; clearly, having Raven with her was taking its toll on her as well. "Mercury," she said once she saw him, causing him to tilt his head and grunt in greeting.

"What's the matter, Emerald?" Raven asked Emerald as she strode in, her amusement readily apparent as she addressed the somewhat frightened young woman. Despite the effect she was having on the green-haired woman, though, Mercury found that she was actually more subdued than he remembered; rather than the constant display of predatory instinct she'd given before, she seemed... sated, almost. Like a lion that had eaten its fill. He imagined the dress had something to do with it, what with the way it was hugging her body and slimming her still rather prominent curves.

"Hello," came a third voice, one that neither Emerald nor Mercury could place. A man entered behind the two women, his black suit of a similar nature to their dresses - fancy and expensive, but not overly so. His hair seemed to be only a few shades into grey, though its decent into age was only accentuated by his suit, and his silver eyes looked nearly white in comparison. His mustache was much further into grey than his hair, though, seeming to shine white in the cheap lighting in the apartment, both of which made the dark lines beneath his eyes stand out even more in comparison. "I don't believe we've met," he continued as he closed the door behind him. "My name is Winston."

"Mercury," Mercury said, turning to head to the kitchen. He busied himself with making tea and coffee, well aware of how things went when someone in the Family came to visit.

"E-Emerald," the youngest woman in the room stammered out, ducking her head timidly as the man chuckled at her introduction. "I-it's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Take a seat, Winston," Cinder said, interrupting him before he could say anything more. "We don't have time for you to tell them your life story."

He chuckled again, but did as she said, sitting in a chair opposite Raven, who had seated herself in the middle of the plush couch in the living room. "So, we're all here," Raven said, locking her gaze on Emerald for a long moment before returning it to Cinder. "Which is something I've been meaning to ask about."

"Given what happened the last time you were allowed to roam free, we have taken certain precautions," Winston said, making Raven raise an eyebrow at Cinder, seemingly refusing to pay attention to him. "It's the entire reason I've been assigned here, after all."

That made Raven turn to face him, her eyes narrowing. "Explain."

"I see no need to at the present time," he said, rearranging himself in his seat until he had both legs folded beneath him. It was an oddly feminine look, and seemed so out of place on him that it gave Raven pause. "Let's just say that I am uniquely equipped to dealing with someone like you, Branwen."

"I see," Raven said slowly, turning back to Cinder, who smirked smugly at her. "So, you managed to convince your boss that it wasn't your fault after all. Impressive. I've heard she has quite the temper."

"She does," Cinder said, her smirk disappearing as quickly as it had come. Glaring at the Goliath, she raised up her left hand and tugged off the forearm length glove she wore, revealing that she was missing her pinkie and ring fingers. "No failure comes without a cost, and yours took this from me," Cinder growled at her, giving her a good, long look at the pair of misshapen lumps.

"Oh, thank you, my boy," Winston said eagerly as Mercury approached, holding a tray that bore a few tea cups, coffee mugs, and a pair of small ceramic carafes. "I'll have tea, thank you. With milk."

The display was enough to distract the two women, who stopped staring each other down long enough for Cinder to sigh impatiently and take a few steps away. "No," Raven said simply when Mercury finished giving Winston his cup and turned to her. He shrugged, then turned to Cinder, who simply plucked up a mug of coffee and drank it down in two swift swallows, seeming to ignore the fact that it had been boiling hot mere moments ago. She set it back down on the tray and grabbed another, drank half of it, then let out a sigh and gave Mercury a thankful nod.

"It's been quite the long day for us," Winston said, attempting to explain Cinder's behavior.

"To start things off," Cinder began, her eyes closed for a long moment before she opened them again, "there's been a minor change of plan. Rather than try to conquer Yharnum subtly, like we tried last time, we're here to take it from the Candle by force. We will wage war against his minions in the streets, raid his back alley emporiums, and find out who he is so we can plant a knife in his heart. It is the only reason why you are still on this team," she added, directing a glare towards Raven.

"To do so," she continued once she'd torn her gaze from the other woman, "we will recruit from the masses of empowered who live here. We will convince them to turn against the drug lord currently living among them, to spill blood in the pursuit of freedom from his reign of tyranny. We will fill their heads with pretty little lies about police corruption and worry for their friends and family who might use his products, and, once this city has descended into chaos, we will establish our own order over it."

Mercury stiffened, but otherwise didn't let his opinion of their new methods show. He saw no reason to give them something to report back to his father, or their superiors, that would make it seem like he didn't want to work for the Family.

"That seems... I don't mean to sound like I'm being insubordinate or anything, but that doesn't sound like a good plan," Emerald said, drawing a halfhearted scowl from Cinder. "Won't that send up some warning flags with the DEA? Maybe CIA? Maybe even the military?"

"I'm aware," Cinder said, letting out another sigh. "It isn't what I'd prefer to do, but we don't have any real choice in the matter. We have a month to do our initial recruitment, but then Salem will expect to hear of what we've begun."

"Ah," Raven said, drawing a scornful glare from the team's evident leader. "Then I'm here to cause a ruckus, hmm?"

"That's not a word I expected you to use, Branwen," Winston said, drawing a chuckle from the Goliath.

"That's essentially the case," Cinder said slowly, clearly attempting to restrain her anger. "But you will not, under any circumstances, do so until we are ready."

"I'll be at your side for the entire operation," Winston said, a wicked smile twisting his lips as he stared at Raven.

"If I catch you watching me in the shower, they'll find what's left of you stuffed in the dumpster outside," Raven said, not quite bothering to make her voice threatening. She knew that he knew her reputation, and let that do the job for her.

"That's assuming you could catch me, Branwen," Winston said around a laugh. "I've hard that's hard to do."

"Enough of that," Cinder snapped, glaring at the two of them. "Any questions?" she asked, directing her still harsh gaze to Mercury and Emerald.

"N-no, ma'am!" Emerald said nearly immediately, standing up a bit straighter.

"Yeah, actually. Why are you all dressed up like you just came from a party?" Mercury asked, making Emerald stare at him with wide eyes as Cinder sighed.

"Because I'm going to one, for some gods damned reason," Cinder said, shaking her head slowly. "Neither of them are."

"I just like wearing these," Winston said, smiling at Mercury.

Raven just gave Mercury a grin and a wink when he looked her way. Not wanting to consider the possibility of the woman with superhuman strength being into him, he instead just assumed she'd done it to prompt the question, and potentially to piss off Cinder.

As no one else fielded a question, Cinder left after a moment, closing the front door behind herself. Despite everything that she'd gone through, Mercury supposed that she was still much the same person as she'd been when she left, including her fondness of observing certain niceties when it came to her subordinates.

And then he realized that she'd left him alone with three people he didn't really want to be near right that moment. After waiting for a few minutes, he left as well, intending to take a nice, long walk while he brooded about his fate.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

After Yang had left for work, Ruby had gone into a cleaning frenzy: washing dishes, vacuuming, wiping down counter tops and mirrors, tidying up her room. It had quickly become a routine for her after her girlfriend had started visiting her home, mostly because Ruby didn't want Neo to think she and her family were slobs, and she had become quite adept at doing them quickly and efficiently.

When the doorbell rang nearly an hour into her cleaning, it startled Ruby enough to make her drop the rag she'd been wielding. She hurried to finish wiping down the counter she'd been cleaning, washed her hands, and ran to the door, flinging it open with a broad smile as she saw her girlfriend there.

Neo smiled back, holding back a giggle at the sheer enthusiasm Ruby had greeted her with. She was a few inches shorter than Ruby, a discrepancy which had only grown over the past two years when Ruby had gained an extra couple between their freshman and junior years. Half of her long, chocolate-colored hair had been bleached and then dyed a bright pink, something that made Ruby smile every time she saw her; it was a reminder of the first time Neo had gone with her and her mother to the salon they frequented, as well as the first time Neo and Summer had begun bonding. Her eyes were similarly multi-colored, both a rich brown, but each having a ring of color in them: a bright, vivid pink in her left, and a creamy white in her right. She wore a simple white blouse, the topmost button undone, an unadorned black skirt, and a pair of open toed sandals, all concessions to the summer heat; her purse, similar to her skirt, was black and without ornamentation, and she carried an umbrella to keep the rain, only now beginning to fall from the sky, from turning her shirt see-through.

"Hi," Ruby said as Neo walked in. Rather than returning her greeting verbally, Neo rose up onto her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Ruby's cheek. Ruby giggled and blushed at the feeling of her lips on her, making her girlfriend smile and shake her head as she collapsed her umbrella and put it onto a rack near the front door. "So, uh... would you like something to drink?" Ruby asked.

Neo raised an eyebrow at her, then started moving her hands, speaking through the sign language that Ruby had learned quite a bit of over the last couple of years.

 _Is there any iced tea left from last time?_

"Coming right up!" Ruby exclaimed happily, making Neo shake her head softly again. It had taken them both a while to adjust to, but, after Neo had realized how often Ruby made her laugh, she'd started actively trying to "voice" her laughter in a more non-verbal method; shaking her head like that was the way that felt the most natural to her, though it still occasionally made Ruby wonder if she'd done something wrong. "I made some just this morning," Ruby added as she poured tea from a nearly full pitcher into a glass for her girlfriend. "Yang's been drinking it, so I have to make more every few days."

 _Good to know I'm not the only one who likes it_ , Neo signed with a smile before she accepted the glass from Ruby.

"Mom said she likes it, too, but that it doesn't have enough calories for her to really want to drink it," Ruby added as Neo took a sip and let out a contented sigh. "And she doesn't want me making a batch that she'd prefer if it would mean that you and Yang can't handle it."

Neo shook her head again and leaned in close, nearly pressing her lips to Ruby's ear. "You can stop now, Ruby," Neo whispered, making Ruby shiver and blush.

"I..." Ruby began, only to trail off and sigh. "Sorry," she said, letting out a sheepish giggle as she scratched her still-red cheek. "You know how awkward I can get when I'm nervous."

"Nervous? Around me?" Neo whispered with a wide grin, making Ruby giggle again.

"Y-yeah," Ruby said, smiling timidly at her. "I... well, it's like... I keep inviting you up to my room," Ruby said, half-mumbling, before giggling again. "And I, uh, I know that we... you know, why we can't, but... it kinda sticks with me."

Neo's grin turned into a sad smile, and she took a step back, her cheeks heating. After setting her tea down, she signed, _I'm sorry, Ruby. I wish I could, but I..._

"I know, Neo," Ruby said softly, drawing her girlfriend into a tight hug before she could finish signing the words. She sighed, then, her cheeks reddening even further, mumbled out, "I love you, Neo."

"I love you too, Ruby," Neo whispered back, snuggling her head into Ruby's shoulder.

Their embrace was brief, as both of them pulled away somewhat regretfully after a moment. Ruby cleared her throat, then, with her voice showing much more cheer than her eyes, said, "So, uh, should we get to studying? We've only got a couple weeks left before finals."

Neo shook her head again, making Ruby pause; then, she signed, _Let's get to it._

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

There we have it. Mostly setup, but it's not quite worth it to jump straight into the chaos that will come. Open war in the streets is quite the step away from the High School AU that this still ostensibly is, so we're gonna take another chapter to work up to it, most likely. I can't wait for you to see what's in store, though! Mmm, such delicious violence...

Okay, I'm starting to remember why I made two distinct characters in my other RWBY story's ANs. That won't happen here, though.

I think we're all good on this front. Nothing really to report, other than my hope to have the next chapter of this out this month (June, 2018).

Until next time!


	9. Chapter 9

I don't know why I made this chapter tease fans of certain ships so much. Enabler, Freezerburn, whatever the hell Emerald/Mercury is called...

Odd way to start an AN, I know. But this one's very brief, barely qualifying as such. Since this chapter is the start of things truly kicking off, let's just kick it off in return, shall we?

 **XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

 _She's here. 3rd and Artemis._

It was all the text message said, but Ruby knew that Torchwick could only be talking about one of two people. Either way, she knew she needed to know more.

"You don't have to come with me, you know," Ruby told Neo as she tossed her backpack into the backseat of her car. Neo did the same as she gave the slightly younger woman a weak scowl, then climbed into the passenger seat before Ruby could protest further. "This won't be anything interesting; just some scouting."

 _And if it isn't, I have your back_ , Neo signed at her, making Ruby sigh.

"Fine, fine," Ruby said, letting out a giggle as she got into her car. "Can you text Yang, then? Please?" she asked sweetly, making Neo shake her head in her version of a giggle. "Thank you, sweetie," Ruby said, giggling again as she kissed Neo's cheek.

They left Beacon High a moment later, and, after mere minutes, Ruby parked her car against the curb on Artemis Way, facing the corner it made with Third Street and the active crime scene that had cordoned off one of the recently renovated houses on it. Police tape had been wrapped around a slender tree in its front yard, then tied to one of the few sections of white picket fence that was still intact; as the other side of the yard was littered with smoldering wreckage from one of the house's destroyed walls, it was enough to close the area off to the public.

"Gods alive," Ruby mumbled as she took in the scene. Next to her, Neo bit her lower lip, her multi-colored eyes flicking from the ruined house to her girlfriend. "Okay, so, fire," Ruby said, swallowing at the lump that had formed in her throat as worry and fear fluttered through her - evidently, she wasn't quite as prepared to face down Raven and the Family as she thought. "That means it's probably not Raven, unless she's working with someone again. No blood or bodies I can see from here, but the house was busted open from the inside, judging by... that," she said, gesturing to the still smoking wood littering the yard. "Which means... someone got away. I think."

She took a deep breath, then unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car. "Let's go see what we can learn from whoever's here," Ruby said softly as Neo followed her lead, the two of them walking to the first police officer that caught Ruby's eye.

Only for them to be intercepted by a woman wearing a white blouse and a pair of black trousers, whose black hair bore a red accent, much like her daughter's.

"What are you doing here, Ruby?" Detective Summer Rose asked with a sigh, her silver eyes tiredly meeting her daughter's and making Ruby shift awkwardly on her feet; although she was used to looking up to see her mother, Ruby had grown a few inches over the last two years, resulting in them being more or less the same height.

"O-oh, you know," Ruby said, a nervous giggle falling from her lips as she scratched her cheek. "I, uh... noticed something was wrong while Neo and I were... uh... on our way to the mall?"

"Yeah, nice try," Summer said, smiling only briefly before her stern frown returned. "Get home, now."

Something in her mother's tone made Ruby realize something, making her eyes widen and her heart begin to race. "Mom... why are you here? You work in Vice."

Summer took a long, deep breath, then let it out in a sigh as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "All I can tell you right now is that this is a multiple homicide tangentially linked to what appears to be some sort of drug, something new. But that's not why I want you home, Ruby."

"Mom?" Ruby asked, taking a shaky breath as she realized there was fear lurking in her mother's eyes.

"Go. Back. Home," Summer said slowly, turning to stare at the partially destroyed house behind her. "Please, Ruby."

"It's her, isn't it? Raven?"

Summer sighed again, then faced her daughter and nodded. "She's back, Ruby. And I want you and Yang safe at home whenever possible, do you understand?" she asked, her tone far more aggressive than Ruby had ever heard it before. "If I have to hear that she's gone after you, either of you, I... Just go home, Ruby," Summer finished, turning back to the crime scene and starting towards it again. "I'll explain everything else when we're all there."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"We all know why we're here, right?" Summer Rose asked, looking over the people she'd gathered into her living room. Ruby and Yang sat next to each other on the couch, so closely that their legs pressed together, while Ghira Belladonna, Yharnum's chief of police and Ruby's godfather, sat on a reclining chair next to it, his wife Kali pacing restlessly nearby. Summer's partner, Carlos Santiago, stood behind the couch, his expression both stern and worried as he leaned on the sofa's back. "I don't need to tell any of you what kind of person Raven is, or what she's done, or what she might do in our city?"

"No," Ghira said, his deep voice rumbling with unease. Despite the loosening of his tie and the unbuttoning of his three-piece suit's dress shirt, he seemed nervous and tense, both by the topic at hand and the nature of the discussion itself.

"I might like to hear it," Winter Schnee said, seated primly on the other side of the couch Ruby and Yang were using. She wore a pristine white lab coat, her similarly colored hair done up in a bun, and a pair of sneakers that had seen a considerable amount of wear - her self-appointed uniform for her job as a mortician, which she had been on the way to when she'd received Ghira's text. "I haven't been as involved in this city's recent history as the rest of you, so there may be things I've missed. If I'm to help you, I'd like to make sure I know what I need to."

"How exactly would a mortician help out, anyway?" Carlos asked, glancing between his boss and partner.

"By giving us any information she can as soon as she can, rather than waiting for it to be neatly filed away in a report," Summer explained, drawing a nod of acceptance from Carlos. Meeting Winter's deep blue eyes, Summer added, "To summarize, Raven is strong enough to juggle tanks, hardy enough to survive being shot by one, and can turn into a small bird capable of flying in excess of forty miles per hour. She has trouble distinguishing between right and wrong - speaking from a moral perspective - and is capable of holding a grudge for more than a decade. From the records we have of her misdeeds, she prefers to kill with her hands and feet rather than using other weapons, though she is perfectly capable of wielding firearms - provided she doesn't crush them in a fit of anger," Summer finished, her lips twisting with anger of her own.

"I see," Winter said, frowning thoughtfully as she turned her gaze away from Summer's heated silver eyes. "I'll keep an eye out for blunt trauma in the shape of knuckles, as well as other feats of superhuman strength."

"I'll give you my number," Yang offered in a quiet voice, having huddled closer to Ruby after Summer's description of her mother. "I've got the same power, so I might be able to tell you if something is within our capabilities."

"Thank you, Yang," Winter said, her voice gentle - though the effort she'd put into making it gentle was also clear to the blonde.

"So, to get back to the main topic: how do we stop her?" Summer asked the room. "Without harming civilians, without destroying the city, how do we deal with her permanently?"

"Permanently?" Carlos asked, straightening as he stared at his partner. "You're talking about killing her?"

"If need be," Ghira said, resting his chin on the back of one hand as he glanced at the not-quite-rookie detective. "Ideally, we find a witch who could curse her to permanently evict her from Yharnum, but witches are rarely willing to work with law enforcement on anything, even something that could give them something to hold over our heads. I know Zephyr knows of at least one, but she's refused to work with us before; I doubt she'd be willing to work with us this time."

"Where is he, anyway?" Kali asked, her feline ears pressed flat against the top of her head as she glanced around the room for effect. "I thought you contacted everyone in town, Summer?"

"Which is exactly where he isn't," Summer said, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she let out a sigh. "He's over in the fishing village, hunting down a few missing kids. You know how private investigators can get about their cases."

"I can go through his and Dad's notes this weekend," Ruby volunteered, her hand gripping her sister's tightly - more for Yang's benefit than her own; the blonde had started shaking barely a minute into the conversation, and both knew it wasn't from a chill. "I can even start tomorrow, if you let me call in sick, Mom."

"I'll make the call in the morning," Summer said, nodding approvingly at Ruby. "Thank you, Ruby."

"I think I'll make some hot chocolate," Kali announced, shaking her head as she drifted towards the kitchen, glancing at Yang one last time. "Does anyone want something?"

"We'll have some, too, auntie," Ruby said, sending the Faunus woman a grateful smile.

"Anyone else?" Kali asked, looking at everyone else in turn, only for them all to shake their heads. "No? Okay then."

"So, any thoughts on how to do this?" Summer asked, meeting Ghira's eyes before looking over to her partner. "Whether we decide to kill her or not?"

"Well, if you're looking for another angle on that whole 'witch' thing," Ghira said, scratching a finger at his chin through his short, well-kept beard as he stared at the three young women seated on the couch, "I think we can approach it without involving anyone in law enforcement."

"I'd be willing to speak to this witch, assuming she operates during similar hours," Winter offered. After a moment, she frowned, then added, "I'm the first to admit that I'm not the best person to assign to a diplomatic cause, however. I tend to speak in ways that tend to be rather off-putting to most people."

"I can do it, then," Ruby said. "This weekend, if I need to."

"Not without me," Yang said quickly, clinging even more tightly to her sister than before. She'd encircled Ruby's arm with both of her own, and her head was now firmly planted on the brunette's shoulder.

"Then _we'll_ do it," Ruby corrected herself, smiling reassuringly at her. "Together, just like always."

"Thank you," Yang mumbled softly, feeling her cheeks heat as she realized nearly everyone else in the room was looking at her.

"Well, that's decided," Ruby said, both in an attempt to take some of the attention off of her sister and to move the discussion along. "What's Plan B?"

"Killing Raven... it'll take some doing," Summer said, letting out a sigh. "Goliaths have a natural resistance to foreign bodies that makes them nearly immune to conventional poisons, as well as any disease I can think of that wouldn't turn into a plague. And she's a Steel Soul on top of that..."

"I'd be willing to look through government databases to find any diseases that could have a more controlled distribution," Winter offered. "I doubt I'll find anything useful for our purposes, but it could potentially yield useful results."

"Since when does a mortician have that kind of access?" Ghira asked, squinting at her.

"They don't. I'd be doing it as a daughter of Jacques Schnee. I still have a few connections within the company, and most of them owe me favors."

"You'd have to try to mask what you're trying to learn, though," Carlos said, making the Schnee turn to face him. "If you start poking around for dangerous diseases, and then someone happens to die from one of them in the city you live in... well, we'd have to arrest you, and that'd be awkward."

"Glad to see you're on our side here, Carlos," Summer said, making her partner chuckle.

"It still likely wouldn't amount to much, but I'd be willing to give it a try," Winter said. "If nothing else, I'll be better prepared to identify potential viral outbreaks in the future."

"Then we're back to trying to kill her with violence," Ghira said. After a moment spent idly chewing the back of his hand, he asked, "What about fire? Or acid? Steel Souls gain resilience only to the things they've had to deal with before, right?"

"I think so, yes," Summer answered with a frown. "I'd have to check with Zephyr to know for certain, but I believe that's the case. It wouldn't be too difficult to shield herself from flames and the like, if she actually tried to improve herself like that, but... some form of acid, or liquid nitrogen, or something along those lines would be much more difficult, wouldn't it?"

"Hah!" Ghira belted out, a fierce grin crossing his features as he leaned forward in his seat. "Now we're talking!"

"Ruby, Yang," Kali's voice drifted in from the kitchen, momentarily interrupting them. "The hot chocolate's just about ready, if you want to join me."

"Coming!" Ruby called back, lifting herself to her feet - somewhat awkwardly, with the way Yang continued to cling to her arm. "I'll start looking through Dad's journals to see if I can get a lead on that witch, okay?" Ruby asked her mother, drawing a nod from her. "Okay, then. Good luck!"

"Remember to stay safe, you two," Summer said before her daughters could leave the room. "I know you two don't need to carry guns or knives to stay armed, but don't let anyone catch you by surprise, either."

"We know, Mom," Ruby said, giving her a wink just before she disappeared through a doorway.

"Is that a common occurrence?" Winter asked, frowning after the two sisters.

Summer frowned, then let out a sigh and shook her head. "It was for about a month after their father was..." she trailed off, sighing again. "It took both of them a while to get back on their feet after that, and... I suppose they'll be trying to stay close to each other again, until we can deal with Raven permanently."

"Speaking of which," Carlos chimed in, "you two mentioning acid got me thinking about something... Has anyone else here ever had a mercury burn?"

In the kitchen, Ruby sighed in relief as she managed to get Yang to sit down at one of the chairs surrounding the dining table, though the blonde was still shaking so badly that her knees occasionally bounced the table. "It'll be okay, Yang," Kali said, giving her best, most motherly smile as she set a pair of ceramic mugs full of steaming cocoa in front of them. "She won't take anyone from us ever again; I can promise you that."

"H-how?" Yang mumbled, swallowing timidly as she stared down at her own lap.

"Because we're not going to let her," Kali said, her smile widening and closing her eyes with its broadness. She twitched the ears atop her head and, as a devious glint entered her gold eyes, added, "These little things aren't just for show, you know: I can hear every word they're saying in the living room, and I think they're plan will work. Mercury takes such a low dose to be survivable that it's unlikely Raven would've been able to build a tolerance for it, and even then it can cause muscle weakness and trouble with vision and hearing. Splashing her with a bit of it should make her easy to deal with in a straight fight, if it comes to that."

"Oh, so that's why they had us wear those thick gloves in chemistry yesterday," Ruby said, giggling. "Wait, why do you know all that stuff?" she asked after a moment, blinking up at her godmother as she giggled.

"I write stories, remember?" Kali asked, tilting her head to one side. "I did a lot of research into toxins to write my murder mystery series and break away from all the smut I usually write, and some of it stuck with me. Speaking of smut and things sticking to things..." Kali changed the subject, her smile turning outright devious as she glanced between the slowly calming Yang and a now blushing Ruby. "Did you know that there's a few copies of my books in your room, Yang?"

"What?" Yang asked, her head whirling to face her sister. "Ruby, did you...?"

"Look, I had Neo over and didn't want her to see them, okay?" Ruby asked, ducking her head - and hiding her smile, happy that Yang was coming out of her funk. "I thought about stashing them in a few other places, but... well, let's just say I decided _not_ to hide them in the bathroom."

"But in my room?" Yang asked, making Ruby's cheeks turn an even deeper shade of pink. "What if I find out which pages are stuck together, sis?" she continued, making Ruby's head snap up to face her, silver eyes wide with a mixture of embarrassment and alarm. "I don't want to know what things got you going!"

"Stop," Kali said, giggling behind her hand as she shook her head. "I might get too much inspiration to _not_ write smut if you two keep going like this. Especially since you're still holding hands," she added teasingly, making the two sisters realize that they still, in fact, had their fingers interlaced with each other's.

"Ew, auntie!" Ruby groaned, a deep grimace marring her features as the older woman laughed. "Don't think about us like that!"

"I'm _so_ tired of perverts thinking things like that," Yang grumbled, scowling up at the Faunus.

Neither of them let go of the other's hand, though.

"Okay, okay!" Kali said, still laughing behind her hand. "I won't write anything based off of this, I promise!"

"Good!" Ruby said, still grimacing.

"I'd have to write it as step-sisters anyway," Kali continued, moving her hand to show the two her smile. "You can't get away with writing actual incest in this country, no matter how lovey-dovey you make it, and that would just ruin the feeling, I think." Ruby sighed and Yang groaned, both shaking their heads in tandem. "Now, drink your hot chocolate already; take much longer and we'll have to call it cold chocolate."

Ruby groaned, cradling her head in her hands, but Yang just frowned and stared down at the mug full of steaming brown liquid. "Don't make jokes like that, please," Yang asked in a quiet voice, her violet eyes shimmering. "It just... it reminds me of Dad."

Kali winced, then mumbled, "I'm sorry, Yang. I... I wasn't thinking about that, about him." Ruby said nothing, instead leaning over to press her shoulder against Yang's, and felt the blonde lean against her in return.

"I know, I just..." Yang trailed off, closing her eyes. After a long, tense moment, she sighed and reopened them, reaching out for her hot chocolate with a shaking hand.

Only for it to break under her grip. Shards of ceramic fell from between her fingers, several opening cuts along them; Yang winced and hissed in discomfort as the still hot liquid spilled across her now open wounds, stinging in ways that made her eyes water all over again.

"Oh, no," Kali mumbled, backing away from the blonde. "I'll... I'll go get some bandages and things, okay? Back in a jiffy!"

With that, she left the room in a hurry, leaving Ruby to clean Yang's hand with a napkin.

"Hey," Ruby said softly as Yang began to cry. "Don't do that. I'm still here, Yang."

"But you won't be forever," Yang mumbled. "You, and Mom, and Blake, and everyone else I love... Even if... even if everything goes right, I'll still be alive thirty years after all of you," she continued, letting out a pained whimper as Ruby set down the napkin she'd been using and brought a fresh one to bear on her hand.

"Hey, you don't know that," Ruby said, giving her a small smile - one that showed just how little she believed what she said. "Maybe Weiss can fix all of us, Yang. Maybe she'll find a treatment for Lupus that Blake isn't allergic to, maybe she'll figure out a way to keep Mom's and my metabolisms from killing us."

"No, I don't... I can't put that on her, Ruby," Yang croaked out, pulling her hands away from Ruby's and settling them in her lap. "Not when she... I won't do it."

"I know, Yang. I'm not going to do that to her either. All I'm saying is that the future isn't set in stone, that there's always going to be a chance to fix things going forward."

"I... Okay. Okay, I can... I can believe that," Yang said, smiling as she looked up and met her sister's eyes.

"Good. For now," Ruby began, picking up her mug of hot chocolate. With her other hand, she grabbed one of Yang's and placed it over her own on the mug, then moved it in front of Yang's lips. "For now, if there's ever anything you need help with, Yang, I'm here for you."

Yang choked out a laugh as tears began flowing from her eyes again, and she took a sip from her sister's drink. "Thank you, Ruby. I... You don't even know how much I love you."

"Of course I do, Yang; it's nearly as much as I love you."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"This is getting ridiculous," Adam grumbled as he stared down at the blood puddled in front of him. "I thought you said this was supposed to be one of our safe houses, Troy."

"It is!" the corpulent man beside him said, grimacing as the scent of blood touched his nose. He wore a three-piece suit that had to stretch to accommodate his expansive bulk, despite being specifically tailored for him, and his black hair was kept as trim and neat as it could be, given its curliness. His thick, finned tail thrashed anxiously behind him as he continued, saying, "It's in the bloody Harpy district, and only four people knew about it other than me. Five, now, with you."

"Who were the others?" Adam asked, turning his gaze to the body the blood had come from - or, rather, the closest piece of it. An arm, skin unnaturally pale and the nails on its hand painted a bright shade of blue.

"Her, the boss, Azazel, and Scarlatina," Troy said, his pale cheeks steadily turning green. "Look, man, I can't stay here for much longer."

"I get it, Troy. Try not to puke within a hundred feet of here," Adam said, nodding to his subordinate.

"Thank you," Troy said, hastily making his way out of the abandoned house.

'Formerly abandoned house,' Adam corrected himself as he looked around the room. The building, as well as the three adjacent to it, had been converted into one colossal safe house by one of Roman Torchwick's ideas and a number of his flunkies. Rotted wood and busted pipes had been torn from them, replaced with fresher materials of high quality over the course of three years. The door was the only real evidence of the armored plating in the walls, though, being half a foot thick and opening on six heavy-duty hinges, but the entire converted building seemed to have an isolated feeling about it, one that Adam was not fond of.

Though that might have been the corpse scattered about the building.

"Poor girl," Adam mumbled, stooping down to examine the arm more closely. "Rough around the edges," he mumbled, frowning at the tattered flesh and shattered bone at the end of the limb. "It was torn off, not cut off." He sighed as he stood back up, shaking his head. "Still can't believe some of the shit that goes down here."

He moved on from the arm, looking around at the blood-splattered plastic sheeting covering the thrift-store couches and chairs scattered around the room. "The furniture's still covered," he mumbled, frowning, "meaning she wasn't using any of it. She must've stopped in to make a dead drop, then. Or to collect one. But she was interrupted by... probably Raven, unless the Londal's have another Goliath on their side. She didn't even get that far in," Adam continued to speak aloud, stepping over another pool of drying blood, "unless she was on her way out."

Adam paused, tapping the steel toe of his boot against one of the footprints left in the dust covering the floor. "She spun here," he said, glancing over at one of the severed legs to check that it was wearing the sneakers he'd been seeing in the footprints. "Meaning this was when Raven kicked the door down. Call it... seven seconds from the front door to here." He put his foot down on the cleared spot, then spun to face the door, only to cock his head to one side when he looked back down. "No, this was something else..." he mumbled, trailing off, as he turned his head to the ceiling.

He frowned at the smooth patch of drywall above him, then cocked his head to the side as he noticed that the blood covering one inch-wide square of it looked quite a bit older than the splatters scattered around the rest of the ceiling. "I wonder," Adam said softly, reaching up to tap it with his finger. It didn't budge, but the sound his tapping made caught his attention; rather than the dull thunking he'd expected, it made a sharp click.

 _"June sixteenth."_

Adam tilted his head again as he stared up at the chunk of ceiling, then did something he still had a hard time getting used to: adjusted his vision. His cybernetic eyes whirred in their sockets as they zoomed in on the lone panel, which was indeed separate from the rest of the ceiling - now that he had a much closer look of it, he could see the faint lines where it didn't quite mesh with the rest of the drywall, as well as the only barely visible mesh-like pattern that told him it was a speaker.

 _"I found out who's guiding the operation. I left the drive containing everything I've uncovered with the Knight. Closed Circuit, out."_

"Interesting," Adam said once the woman's voice had finished echoing through the room. "But," he mumbled, looking from the speaker to the black-haired head jammed partway into what was left of the building's fireplace, "it wasn't you, so who was it?"

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Hey there, my Knight."

Jaune Arc sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he turned to face Pyrrha Nikos. Her scarlet hair was tied back in a ponytail, and was much shorter than he remembered, falling only to her shoulders instead of the small of her back, and her light grey tank top and knee-length skirt were far less conservative than the blouses and trousers he was used to seeing her wear. "I thought I told you to stop calling me that, _Princess_ ," he said, unable to keep himself from smiling at her beaming grin. She cleared the step between them and wrapped him in a hug, one which he gladly returned, and then pressed a kiss to his lips, which he also returned. "Glad to see you back," he said, resting his forehead on hers as she giggled. "How'd you do?"

"I think I aced most of them, but the biology final might have gotten away from me," Pyrrha said, still smiling at him. The two broke their hug, though Pyrrha made sure her arm encircled her boyfriend's as they walked through the park. "It's weird, I think."

"What is?"

"Being in a long-distance relationship with my best friend, who didn't want to be anything but my best friend until I wore him down over the years," Pyrrha said, letting out another giggle as Jaune rolled his eyes.

"You say that every few months, Pyrrha," Jaune groused, throwing her a sideways smile. After a moment, though, it morphed into a frown.

"What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked, frowning as he did.

"The city," Jaune said with a sigh, turning his gaze skyward and taking in the dark clouds that were beginning to form there. "There's been talk in the bar, recently, that one of the Cainhurst families is making a move on Yharnum. I didn't believe it until I turned on the news yesterday."

"The murders? Or that... what was it called? Queen Mab's Greed?"

"All of it," Jaune mumbled, rubbing the bridge of his nose again. He lowered his head and kept quiet as he felt a wave of determination brush against his senses, carefully keeping himself from staring at the jogger nearing them; he didn't speak again until after her emotions had faded from his perception. "Even the weather's going wrong," he continued, gesturing up at the storm clouds brewing overhead. "It's never rained this much in summer, not in Yharnum."

"Maybe it just means someone new is in town? I don't think anyone will be as good at getting in touch with and helping powered people as Taiyang was," Pyrrha said, letting out a sigh of her own. "Which reminds me, actually: how is Ruby doing? And Yang, too, I suppose."

"You really need to tell me why you hate Yang so much, Pyrrha," Jaune said, shaking his head as his girlfriend scowled at him. "Yeah, they're doing... okay, I guess. I don't exactly keep track of them. Although... Yang did run out of work about an hour into her shift yesterday after she got a text. The way she was feeling... I've never felt anyone that afraid, ever."

"Really?" Pyrrha asked, blinking at him. "Why, what happened?"

"Dunno. Haven't heard from her since."

"Great, now I'm worried about _Yang_."

Jaune snorted out a laugh and shook his head again. "So, what're you doing here, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, making Pyrrha eye him suspiciously. "What?"

"Asking your girlfriend something like that makes you seem suspicious, Jaune," Pyrrha said, tightening her grip on his arm. "I came here looking for you."

"Why here, though? I don't usually come here."

"I called Nora, asked where you were, and she said that if I couldn't get a hold of you, that I should come to the park," Pyrrha said with a shrug. "I don't know why, but she was right, wasn't she?"

"Huh," Jaune said. After a moment, he said, "Well, in case you're wondering why I'm here, it's for work."

"Going the extra mile to bounce someone, huh?"

"Not that work."

"I know. Is it fine if I stay with you, or will that just make them nervous?"

"It'd probably be for the best if you find something else to do for a minute or so, Pyrrha," Jaune said, wincing as she sighed. "Sorry, but... you know how these things go."

"Unfortunately," she said, letting go of his arm as they neared the stone fountain in the park's center. "Well, I've got a penny in my purse, so I might as well go make a wish. Good luck, sweetie," she added, kissing his cheek before striding purposefully to the fountain.

"You can come out, now," Jaune said softly, causing the man standing behind a nearby tree to chuckle. He turned to look at him, blue eyes unwavering as he sighted the man's horns, red hair, and metal eyes. "Adam Taurus, right?" he asked, glancing down to take in the fairly typical black three-piece suit he wore, though he'd folded the jacket over his arm rather than wear it - a concession to the summer heat.

"And you must be the Knight," Adam said, looking over Jaune in much the same way the teenage blonde had examined him. His black T-shirt was loose, as were his dark blue jeans, but the lack of any sweat on him despite the dark colors told Adam that he'd either gotten used to high heat or had an ability that made him not feel it.

"The Candle's burning at both ends," Jaune said cryptically, making Adam chuckle.

"Meaning those who try to unseat him will get doused in boiling wax," Adam said, drawing a sigh from Jaune.

"We have these codes for a reason, you know. I'm not even supposed to get directly involved, just report anything I think is relevant to my handler," Jaune complained, pulling a thumb-sized USB stick from his pocket and handing it to the older man.

"Sorry about that, kid, but I am glad for the help," Adam said as he tucked the device away. "What's on here, anyway?"

"How would I know? I don't look at these sorts of things," Jaune said with a shrug. "Plausible deniability."

Adam snorted off a laugh and nodded in acceptance as he walked off, waving goodbye over his shoulder. "Good talk, kid."

"Your contact?" Pyrrha asked as she rejoined Jaune, adjusting her purse on her shoulder.

"Apparently," Jaune mumbled. He sighed, then put on a smile and turned to his girlfriend. "So, what'd you wish for, Pyrrha?"

"If I tell you, it won't come true. Now, to change the topic: do you have plans for dinner tonight?"

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

 _Smoke tinged with the metallic scent of blood filled her mouth with every breath. Haphazard piles of burning wood spilled light up into the cloudy sky, even as the screams of those bound to the metal poles in their centers screamed to the heavens. Dark shapes, more monster than man, moved at the edges of the bonfires as they watched the people burn._

 _It was enough to make her sick to her stomach, but that didn't stop her from straying from the light and into the darkness surrounding it. Her silver eyes adjusted to the difference in lighting near-instantly, and she saw the first of the dark beasts start to circle towards her, purple electricity spilling like drool from its jaws._

 _When it lunged, so did she, her sword screaming as it cleaved through the air._

 _And then through the beast._

 _The creature fell to the ground in two halves, split from the tip of its nose to the bottom of its rump. Dark blood gushed from its corpse, seeping into the gravelly dirt beneath it, and her sword was drenched in enough of the foul substance that it dripped from the blade._

 _She brought the sword up, letting silvery moonlight reflect off of it and into the eyes of the beasts remaining before her, then licked some of the blood from her blade, the way she might have licked a lover's finger. As the foul taste coated her tongue and crept into her roiling stomach, she felt the power it contained seep into her, making her stronger than ever before._

 _"Next," she hissed. As the remaining beasts cried to the heavens, her laughter flew up with them._

Summer moved to the edge of her bed and vomited, the scents and tastes she'd experienced during the dream so palpable that they'd stuck with her after she woke. She didn't know whether to consider it a blessing or a curse that it wasn't the first time she'd had that particular nightmare - though the trash can she'd stuck next to her bed would almost certainly consider it a curse. Once she'd finished her retching, she rolled back onto her back and closed her eyes, trying to relax as adrenaline and nausea roiled inside of her, a potent mixture that made her sweat herself dry and jump at every small noise.

After several long minutes, she let out a sound that was halfway between a groan and a sigh as the alarm she'd set on her phone went off, telling her that it was time to get up. "Getting _more_ sleep, at least," she muttered darkly, taking care not to step into her trash can as she swung her legs off the side of the bed and got up off of it. "Not _good_ sleep, but more of it."

One quick trip to the attached bathroom later, and Summer returned to her room, freshly bathed and wearing a white bathrobe. As always, her eyes caught onto the framed picture she had on her nightstand - specifically, the tall blonde man smiling back at her from it.

"Oh, Tai," she mumbled, a mournful sigh leaving her lips as she fell to her knees beside it. She closed her eyes for a long moment, and when she reopened them, they were damp with unshed tears. "Our daughters are strong, Tai, but... No matter how strong they are, it will never be enough for what comes next." She sighed again, shaking her head. "I wish you were still here. I wish you could still be here for them, like you are for me."

Summer ran a finger over her husband's face in the picture, then rose back up, smoothing out her bathrobe as she schooled herself. "Okay, okay," she mumbled. After she brushed a tear from her eye before it could fall, she said, "Okay, I need to make breakfast for the girls, then go grab your journals from your office before I head into work, Taiya."

Having said all she wanted to say, Summer stared at the picture for another few moments, as if hoping to hear him respond. But, finally, she bit her lower lip and turned on her heel, leaving her bedroom behind.

"Morning, Mom," Ruby mumbled when Summer stepped through the door to the kitchen. She was already nursing from a mug of tea, though the steam coming from the kettle on the stove told Summer that she hadn't woken up too long before her; that she was still wearing her sleepwear, a black tank top and a pair of white pajama bottoms, only reinforced that.

"Morning," Summer said, wincing when it came out as a grunt. "Sorry. Good morning, Ruby," she said, forcing herself to speak in a more respectful tone. "Did you sleep well?"

"With Yang, if that's what you mean," Ruby said, drawing a sigh from her mother. "I know, I know: you want us to be more independent and less reliant on each other, but... after learning that _she's_ back... I think we needed each other this time," she said, letting out a sigh of her own. "I mean, at least we got _some_ sleep."

"I know that feeling," Summer mumbled, opening up a drawer next to the fridge and pulling a small plastic bottle from it. She opened it and upended it into her palm with the same motion, letting a single clear capsule fall into her hand before she sealed it back up and set it down.

Ruby sighed again when she saw Summer swallow the pill dry, eyeing the bottle disdainfully as she put it away. "Didn't you always say Bloodmakers shouldn't have things like caffeine?" Ruby asked, drawing a hard look from her mother, only for Summer to sigh again herself a moment later.

"I know, but it's a time release capsule, so I'm not getting all of it at once," Summer said, leaning on the counter as she spoke to her daughter. "After... After Raven killed Taiyang, I've been... having the nightmares again, Ruby. I started needing them just to get through the day, and I've been weaning myself off of them for a little while now, but... some days are harder than others."

"At least have some water or something when you take it, Mom," Ruby pleaded, drawing another sigh from her mother. "Please?"

"Yeah, you're probably right," Summer mumbled, turning again and standing on her toes to reach up into the nearest cabinet for a glass. "Did you wake Yang up, or is she still sleeping?"

"Yes to both," Ruby said, giggling as she took another sip of her tea. "At least, I think she fell asleep again before I left. She looked like she needed it."

"At least our nightmares aren't contagious," Summer said, the corner of her mouth quirking as her daughter giggled again. "I'm planning on making breakfast," she said after filling her glass with tap water. "Is there anything in particular you want, Ruby?"

"Maybe pancakes?" Ruby asked as Summer chugged down her water in one long pull. "We still have some eggs, right?"

"They might not be any good," Summer said, grimacing as she glanced over at the fridge. "It's been too long since any of us did any real cooking."

Silence reigned for a long moment, until a muffled thump from upstairs made both of them jump. When it repeated, again and again in a rhythm, Summer frowned and looked at Ruby again, asking, "Is that... Is Yang exercising?"

"Probably, yeah," Ruby said, staring down at her tea again - mostly so she didn't have to meet her mother's eyes. "We... talked, about a few things last night, and..." she trailed off, then let out a sigh before she continued. "She's planning on working out for half an hour every morning and an hour every night until Raven's gone."

Summer stiffened, her eyes widening. "Ruby," she said slowly, her tone making Ruby flinch and seem to shrink into her seat, "why is Yang doing that?"

"Because she... Because _we_ think that getting her strong enough to match Raven is a good idea," Ruby said, swallowing as she lifted her eyes to meet her mother's stern gaze. "Even if you manage to hit her with enough mercury to do anything, she'll still be tough, Mom. Tough enough that bullets won't be able to stop her, that a missile won't be able to stop her. And if she's still strong enough to... to..." Ruby trailed off again, blinking back tears as she swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. "If she's still that strong, you'll need a countermeasure. A Goliath, to hold her down while we stuff something poisonous down her throat - or while I shred her brain with wind," she growled out, her next breath coming out hard enough to make Summer's bathrobe sway from nearly a dozen feet away.

"Not a chance," Summer scoffed, folding her arms over her chest. "I'm not letting either of you go anywhere near her."

"No offense, Mom," Ruby said with a grimace, "but it's not really up to you, is it? You can't keep up with an aerokinetic, much less two of us."

Summer sighed again, then cleared the space between them and gently grasped her daughter's cheeks. "I know, but that doesn't mean I want anything to happen to you," she said. She pressed a kiss to Ruby's forehead, then straightened and said, "To either of you. And if I need to slap a pair of cuffs on you and haul you in to the precinct to protect you, I will. And... if Raven's here for the reason I think she is... she can have my Yang over my cold, dead body."

" _Our_ Yang, Mom," Ruby said firmly, prompting a snort of laughter from her mother as she opened the fridge. "And I won't let that happen, either."

"I'm glad to hear it, Ruby. Oh, these eggs are still good. Looks like we can have pancakes after all."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Look, just... make sure it gets to her, alright?" Mercury asked the purple-haired bartender, making her sigh and nod. "Thank you, Daisy. You're a hero."

"Keep talking like that and I'll figure out a way you can repay me," she said with a giggle, winking at him in a way that made her wrinkles seem to stretch.

Mercury chuckled, winked at her in return, and left, sighing in relief the moment the bar's door swung shut behind him. "Sweet fucking death, what is it with me and older women?" he mumbled to himself, shaking his head as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and started walking away. "What, are Assassins candy to them?" After a moment, he said, "I'm not talking to myself here, Emerald."

She appeared nearby, wearing a scowl and with her arms folded over her chest. "What makes you think I want to talk to you?" she asked without moving her lips; the words buzzed uncomfortably in his ears, making him groan as he realized she'd crafted an illusion to say it.

"Emerald, let me ask you a question," Mercury began, only to let out a sigh when she disappeared from his sight and he felt his head begin to pound behind his eyes again. "That's not gonna stop me from asking it, you know."

"Then do it already. Asshole."

"What would you say we were, before we came here?"

"Boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Really? What makes you think that?" Mercury asked, half-mumbling as he continued to walk along; he ducked into the first alley he could find, avoiding as much of the public's eye as possible in an attempt to keep people from noticing him seemingly talking to himself. "It wasn't the Chambers debacle, was it?"

"Of course. That was when we first started dating."

"Yeah, as a cover. Cinder's the one who established it for us, remember? 'Two lovers, lost in a strange city, who just happen to stumble across Emilia Chambers.' Those were her words, right?" When Emerald said nothing in reply, Mercury sighed and continued, saying, "You know what a cover is, right? It's fake, Emerald. Cinder didn't put us there to get us to hook up; she put us there to kidnap a six-year-old girl, and gave us the excuse we needed to avoid detection."

"Shut up."

Mercury groaned and grimaced, his headache growing worse with every second he spent next to Emerald and her illusions. "Look, Emerald, I'm gonna say something that you're not gonna want to hear," he said, pausing halfway through the next alley he'd decided to cut through and leaning against a wall. "You need help. You've been... deteriorating for years now, mentally. Psychologically. I don't know what happened to you, but I know you weren't like this when we first met."

"Back when we were five?" Emerald asked disdainfully, reappearing next to him. Her crimson eyes were full of disgust and dislike, but the effect was all but ruined by the oversized T-shirt that had sipped partway off her shoulder and was large enough to nearly completely cover up her shorts; for a moment, Mercury thought she'd forgotten to get dressed before leaving the apartment. "Gee, it's almost like I _should_ be different from that pathetic little runt I was back then."

"You weren't pathetic," Mercury said firmly, making her flinch and take a step back. "Not once. Not to me. You'd just lost your home, your parents and older brother, to a fire, but you had enough left in you to look up and meet my father's eyes when he spoke to you. You were strong enough to glare at him, to his face, when he yelled at you for breaking a plate the next day, and you were brave enough to try to trick him into leaving me alone when he decided to beat me for it. That... None of that was pathetic, Emerald," he said, letting out a sigh and shaking his head as he turned his gaze to the ground between them. "You know... Back then, I looked up to you. You could say no to him. You could ignore what he said and do your own thing. I wanted that... more than you could possibly imagine."

Emerald glared at him for a moment longer before her eyes softened and she let out a sigh of her own. "I cried every night for a year, Mercury. I broke down in front of people all the damn time until I finally got my shit together. I was _nothing_ , until _she_ made me strong."

Mercury snorted out a laugh and shook his head. "No. She's just the person who finally got it through your thick skull that you were always strong, Emerald."

"Then why did you leave me for that... for that thug?!" Emerald shouted, making Mercury look at her and raise his eyebrow.

"Just like I've never been with you, I've never been with her," Mercury said slowly. "Limb's a pretty good friend to have, but I'd rather not take things any further - with her, with you, or with anyone - until I've got a better handle over myself. I mean..." he trailed off, shaking his head again as he looked to the sky. "I don't even know what I want to do with my life, Emerald. I can't go into sports, or anything athletic, or this whole side of things'll get exposed. I don't really have any interests beyond comic books, but I can't draw for shit and my one attempt at writing was the worst thing I've ever seen, so I can't get _involved_ in them." He sighed deeply, shook his head again, and met Emerald's eyes. "I can't do anything but live the life I'm living, and I don't even want it, Emerald."

"What?" she asked, suddenly very aware of how quickly and forcefully her heart was beating. "Wh-what do you-"

"No, not... not that," he interrupted her, making her sigh in relief. "My legs were built for running, not for hanging."

Emerald frowned, searching his eyes with her own as she softly asked, "You... you know how you'd do it? That's... not good, Mercury."

"Nothing about our lives are any good," Mercury mumbled, only to sigh. "Look," he said after a moment, trying to force some cheer into his voice, "I know that things have been rocky between us for... a damn long time now. It's partly because we weren't on the same page, and mostly my fault, I bet; I get real flirty whenever I'm alone with a pretty girl, so I probably made you think that there was something going on between us that wasn't there. I'm sorry about that, but, honestly, I don't put a whole lot of thought into that sort of thing. Odds are it'll keep going on. But," he added, taking a deep breath before he continued, "I never wanted us to be anything but just friends, Emerald. I thought you knew that. I mean... gods alive, how many times did you turn me down when I wanted a quickie by saying that you wanted someone who could show a bit of commitment? And how many times did you get fucked by Cinder while you thought you were with me?"

Emerald blushed and ducked her head, then turned away from him entirely. "I... I didn't realize how I was coming off, I think. I thought I was chastising you for being so flirty with other women, but... I didn't think that _you_ didn't think we were together. I'm... I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," Mercury said, letting out a chuckle that made Emerald scowl at him. "Now, at the risk of it sounding like I'm asking you out - which I'm not - wanna go get some brunch together? My treat?" he asked, grinning as she snorted out a laugh.

"You're the only person I know who cares about _brunch_ , Mercury," Emerald said, letting out another laugh. "And isn't it a bit early for brunch?"

"Fine, breakfast then. And just because I'm a huge badass doesn't mean I don't like having croissants and orange juice," Mercury said, his grin only growing wider as Emerald laughed again.

"Sure. I could go for something to eat. I had to skip breakfast to tail you, after all."

"Glad to hear it, Emmy."

"Never call me that again."

"Sure thing, _Emmy_."

"Asshole."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Winter let out a sigh of relief as she stepped through the door to her apartment, trying to focus on how much overtime she was soon going to be paid for through a layer of exhaustion as she locked it behind her. She made her way through the living room to the kitchen and started working on making a cup of coffee. As she poured a carefully measured amount of water into the coffeemaker she was using, she asked, "What happened? Did he cancel something?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow at her older sister, then let another moment pass by before she asked, "What, no 'welcome home, Weiss?'"

"I felt that was implied by my tolerating you in my home," Winter said, slumping back against the counter as she looked at her. Due to the work she'd just put into assessing the conditions of corpses, Winter's mind was still in an analytical mood, and she felt herself comparing herself to her sister in a way that had long since become familiar to her.

Both had deep blue eyes and long white hair, but while Weiss's was tied in a braid that fell far down her back, Winter had hers in a tight chignon at the back of her head. Both had pale skin, due to both genetic inclination and the lack of sunlight they got from due to their strong work ethics, though Winter's was a few shades paler. They even had similar clothing, though Weiss's white blouse bore their father's company's crest on its breast and she wore a black skirt rather than the black trousers Winter was wearing.

"You're bigger than I remember," Winter noted in a grunt, her eyes fixing on her sister's chest for a moment and making the younger Schnee blush. "Not much taller, though."

"Shut up," Weiss mumbled, folding her arms over her chest self-consciously. "I had to buy new bras. I haven't needed to do that since I was fifteen."

"Well, welcome to the world of there being almost nothing actually cute to wear, sis," Winter said, gesturing vaguely with a hand. "At least you didn't develop as late as I did. I was twenty-two before I got to C's; if you keep at this pace, you'll be there before you turn twenty-one."

"Great, so I have a chance of being as big as Grandma," Weiss mumbled, her arms tightening as her cheeks warmed.

"Or as big as your crush," Winter said, making Weiss look at her with wide eyes, her cheeks turning a bright shade of red. "What? It's quite obvious, Weiss. Even to me," she added, rolling her tired eyes as the coffeemaker let out a pair of soft beeps. She turned to face it and, as she poured it into a mug and added a bit of milk, continued, saying, "I know that I might not be the most romantically inclined individual - or sexually inclined, for that matter - but I know a crush when I see it in someone's eyes, Weiss. And you care for Yang in a way that I haven't seen Mother care for Father in years."

" _Have_ you seen them in years?" Weiss asked sullenly, sitting down at the kitchen table. She sighed and mumbled out a "Thank you," when Winter set a cup of coffee in front of her.

"Not at once, thankfully, and unfortunately more of Father than Mother, but I've seen them talk about each other and not enjoy it," Winter explained as she sat across from Weiss, her own mug in hand. "However, I've also seen you talk about Yang without enjoying yourself, especially in our latest video call. I know that I'm a bit tired right now, but if you would like to talk about it... well, I made coffee for a reason, dear sister," she said, smiling warmly at Weiss.

"I doubt it'd go any differently than the last time we talked about her," Weiss muttered, staring down into the dark brown liquid in front of her. "I like her, she refuses to like anyone who can't survive having sex with her. End of story."

"No story ever truly ends. The writer simply reaches a point where they feel like stopping," Winter said, making Weiss scowl at her. "What I mean is that doesn't have to be the end of this tale, Weiss. Have you thought about using your ability to counteract hers?"

"Not the discussion I wanted to have, but... yes, I've thought about it," Weiss said, her cheeks warming again. She blew on her coffee, took a sip, and then continued, saying, "I've... I've tried practicing it, too, I guess. Form-fitting hard-light armor. But... But that wouldn't let me feel her, Winter. We wouldn't be able to _touch_ each other, we'd just be pretending that we were, and that... I don't want that."

"There's more to our ability than rigidity, dear sister," Winter said, lifting a hand and pointing her palm at the ceiling. Above it formed a ball of roiling white miasma, emitting just enough soft light to make her pale hand seem to shine. "Mother's talents lie in making threads and weaves, in creating a whole from many small things, but mine differ from hers quite dramatically despite being the same gift. My creations are hollow and hazy, but they prefer to be larger than a hand," Winter continued to explain as the orb of misty light swelled above her palm, its convulsions growing less dramatic until they stilled entirely when it was as large as a beach ball. "Do you not remember taking flight on the heron I made when we were younger? How it felt like a true being, flesh and blood and feathers beneath you?" The orb changed shape, turning into a long-tailed bird with misty blue eyes. "Broaden your perceptions, Weiss, and you may find that what you want is within your reach."

Weiss stared at the bird for a moment longer, only for her cheeks to turn pink as she remembered the nature of what they were discussing. "That's probably not the right phrasing for the discussion, Winter."

"Hmm?... Oh, I should refrain from discussing 'reaching out and grasping' something when the context of a conversation is sexual in nature?" Winter asked, causing her sister to nod and her blush to deepen. "Ah. Thank you, and my apologies."

"You're welcome."

"However, it doesn't change my point. Try thinking about your ability in a different way, and you might just find something that allows what you want."

Weiss took another sip of her coffee as she mulled over what her sister had said, then let out a sigh. "Thank you, Winter. I'll... I'll try seeing it as something else, if I can."

"You are quite welcome, Weiss. In the meantime, would you care for breakfast? I'm sure Whitley will be up before much longer, and he'll be thrilled to see you here."

"Sure. Thanks."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Thank you for making sure that she followed her orders, Winston," Cinder said as she stared at the haggard-looking man before her.

"It was of little issue. One quick display of my ability was all it took to reign her in," Winston said. He let out a yawn, then drank deeply from the tall cellophane cup in his hand. "I left her in the Harpy District after we made our escape from the scene, in case you're wondering where she is at this time. She expressed a desire to stay behind, and I've found that granting a measure of freedom to my subordinates allows for a greater degree of control over them. Not that she is _my_ subject, of course, but the point stands."

"It's quite alright. I've learned the same thing, though Raven tests that belief to a degree I hadn't thought possible two years ago."

"Creatures like her need someone to balance them. That's not me referring to her paired abilities, or to her sex, but to the nature of her mind. She doesn't perceive morality in the same way as we do, and that alters her perceptions of the world."

"Unfortunately, I didn't call you here to discuss her," Cinder said, sighing in discontent as she looked at the room they were in. It was extravagant, full of silk and lace, and even the couch she sat on - made from rich brown leather and decorated with beaded plush cushions and a pair of black velvet blankets too small to actually for an adult to use - put her on edge. For reasons that she herself wasn't sure of, Cinder had never grown to appreciate the comforts and charms of the wealthy; her apartment back in Cainhurst was barren and hard, what little furniture it held made of stone that she'd used her talents to disguise as softer materials. "How are things progressing?"

"Recruitment is slow, even more so than expected: for a large city, Yharnum is much like a small town in how displeased its citizenry is with outsiders. What little evidence of police corruption won't be able to turn any empowered to our side, either, as the entirety of it is covering up the existence of the empowered in accordance with the old ways. And, despite us placing as much evidence as we could at the scene, the official police reports make no mention of Ms. Branwen being a potential perpetrator."

"Wasn't there a meeting at the Rose household?"

"We don't know for sure what type of meeting it was. The only outlier who would potentially be invited to such a gathering debating what to do with Raven, but not a less important one, was Winter Schnee, a mortician who usually works the graveyard shift, but even she would have a reason to be there: our digging into her background revealed that her younger sister, who lived with her during her attendance at a local high school, was quite close with both Summer's daughter and step-daughter. It is theoretically possible that it was merely a gathering of pleasure, rather than planning, designed to help them relieve tension by sharing a meal together. It's not uncommon for those in more mundane fields than ours, Cinder."

"I'm aware. Continue observing them, then. Devote as many personnel as it takes to keep eyes on them all at all times."

"I already have people watching their homes and places of work, but I can free a few people from less important duties if you decide it becomes necessary, Cinder. One of them has already reported another development, though: Winter's sister, Weiss Schnee, has returned to the city."

"When?"

"Less than an hour ago. It seems that several of the events her father had planned were canceled due to acts of terrorism, so she fled to the safety of her sister's stronghold - excuse me - _apartment_ , rather than continue to face danger in Mantle. As far as my black hat was able to tell, she paid for her ticket less than half an hour before boarding."

"I had Mercury stationed in her class at Beacon during her senior year. From what I recall, she was closer to the Rose family than your digging revealed, Winston; she might be a useful source of information, especially given how easily Mercury can weasel affection from women."

"Are you speaking from experience, Cinder?" Winston asked, a sly smile stretching the bags beneath his eyes.

"To an extent. There's a charm to him, one that isn't present in his father... I might have to reopen the investigation into his mother, just to see if we can uncover what other abilities she may have had," Cinder mumbled, letting out a sigh as she turned her eyes to the ceiling.

"That might be easier, now that we know a potential ability. I imagine it wouldn't be difficult to find a woman who appeals to other women in such a way." He snorted out a laugh, then added, "It brings a new meaning to the term 'Matriarchal' as we commonly use it, doesn't it?"

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Could you get that, Yang?" Ruby asked when the doorbell rang, giving her sister an apologetic glance before returning her attention to the leather-bound book full of sloppily handwritten notes in front of her. "I'm technically playing hooky, so..."

Yang chuckled and stood, ruffling Ruby's hair as she said, "Sure thing, sis." The brunette made a discontented murmur and playfully scowled up at her with one eye, which only made Yang laugh again, then picked up a nearby blanket and wrap it around herself in their agreed upon disguise - if someone saw her, a blanket would indicate to them that she had a fever, and a prolonged stay beneath it would have her sweating in short order, which would only further cement that assumption.

When Yang opened the door, she blinked in surprise, her mouth opening, closing, and the opening again for her to say, "Weiss?"

Weiss giggled shyly, idly reaching up a hand to toy with one end of the blue ribbon she'd used to tie her braid. "Hi. Uh... Surprise?"

"Get in, quick," Yang said, glancing out worriedly at the street behind her. Weiss frowned and blinked in confusion, but did as instructed, her frown deepening when Yang shut and locked the door behind her. "What are you doing back so soon?" Yang asked, seeming to calm down considerably now that the door was closed.

"Huh?" Ruby asked, looking up from her father's old notebook. Her eyes widened when she saw Weiss, and she tilted her head to the side. "Weiss?"

"Most of the events Father wanted me to go to were canceled, so I booked an earlier flight," Weiss said, her smile coming back as she looked between the two sisters - only for it to fade again after a moment. "Wait... Ruby? Shouldn't you be at school?"

Ruby glanced at Yang, who had already returned to her seat next to her, then told Weiss, "It's Raven. She's back." As Weiss stiffened, fear settling into her eyes, Ruby continued, saying, "Mom and Uncle Ghira have a plan, and we're trying to help them, so she called the school and told them I was sick. Yang and I are trying to sift through our dad's old journals and find out everything we can about a witch."

"A... A witch?" Weiss asked, bewildered by the frankness in Ruby's tone. "Wh-what for?"

"The nonlethal solution: a banishment spell. As much as I want to kill Raven for what she's done..." Ruby spat, then closed her eyes and spent a moment focusing on her breathing, trying to calm herself down. Yang leaned against her, pressing their shoulders together, before Ruby reopened her eyes and continued. "As much as I want that, I know it's one of the hardest things in the world. She's strong, tough, fast... So, we're looking through Dad's old journals for a witch in order to ask her if she'd be willing to banish Raven from Yharnum permanently."

"Sweet fire alive," Weiss whispered, swallowing as she met Ruby's hard gaze. When she turned her eyes to Yang's, the blonde huddled up against her sister in a blatant display of fear, Weiss bit her lower lip. Then, she said, "What can I do to help?"

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

As I said above, things are beginning to kick off. When it starts with murder, well... You know things are gonna get fun.

Blake will return in another week or two (in-story, I mean; it might be another couple of chapters before we see her again). She won't really have anything going on worth talking about until then, unless you think that Yang cowering in fear isn't enough and you want to see Blake do the same on another continent.

I'm aware Neo was all but abandoned after the first segment of this chapter. Most of it was either centered around a family or a Family, neither of which Neo fits into quite yet. Like Blake, she'll be more involved in events going forward, though for her it'll be by spending nearly every day with Ruby, both to protect her with her metal-based power and to keep her informed of things that her father can't be direct about.

Until next time, folks. Good hunting.


	10. Chapter 10

Things get fighty in this chapter, but not in the way you'd expect. For the curious, here's a hint: Cardin Winchester shows up in this chapter.

Here's another hint: I bowled straight into it, intentionally derailing part of this story! As a result, these hints are pretty much meaningless. But! If you've read chapter one, you'll have a better chance at seeing how long this has been in the works.

Your final hint: I am one _twisted_ little bastard, no?

However, this isn't filler. It serves a dual purpose: firstly, it affords me some additional time to explore certain other… particulars. Namely… Well, you'll see soon enough. Secondly, it allows for a "trial run," so to speak, to allow certain characters (and you) a bit of insight into what it would be like to fight Raven in a head-to-head fight in this setting.

With that said, let's dive on in, shall we?

 **XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

"I've got it!" Ruby exclaimed, startling everyone else gathered in her living room. "I found the witch's address!"

"Finally," Weiss groused halfheartedly from her chair, her smile briefly stretching into a grin as she turned her gaze to Yang, who had managed to sleep through Ruby's declaration and continued using her sister's lap as a pillow.

"Is it in Yharnum?" Weiss's brother, Whitley Schnee, asked. Much like his sisters, his eyes were blue, his hair white, and his skin pale, though he had at least some semblance of a tan; he worked part-time at a junkyard that primarily held beaten down cars and trucks, and the long days of late spring and early summer had afforded him plenty of sunlight.

"No, but it's close," Ruby said. "The fishing village."

"Great!... Where's that?" Penny asked, drawing out a giggle from Weiss. The pyrokinetic was seated on the floor, an array of old journals and loose papers scattered between her and Whitley.

"About three hours south, if there's only light traffic," Ruby explained. She opened her mouth to explain further, only to be interrupted by Neo kissing her cheek.

 _Good work_ , Neo signed, making Ruby's cheeks turn a shade pinker.

"Thank you, darling," Ruby said, drawing a giggle from her girlfriend as she kissed Neo's cheek in return. She had to lean over slightly to do it, upsetting her lap and accidentally jostling Yang's head. "Oops. Sorry, Yang," Ruby mumbled, giggling and blushing more deeply as her sister yawned and cracked open an eye to look up at her. "Good news: we found where the witch lives!"

"Huh?... Oh, right," Yang mumbled, yawning again as she shifted on the couch until she was sitting. "Sorry I fell asleep. It's just… blah."

"It is getting pretty late," Weiss said, turning to glance at the clock on the wall behind her – and to keep herself from looking at the expanse of cleavage Yang's tank top revealed as she stretched her arms above her head. "Oof, already after ten," she muttered, wearing a frown as she looked over at her brother. "Should we head back, Whitley?"

"Huh?" he asked, blinking at her. "Why are you asking me?"

"Because our other option is spending the night here, where you're the only boy," Weiss said, fighting the urge to smile as his cheeks turned pink.

"Weiss, you know I'm not like that. If anything, I'm less likely to do that sort of thing than most of you," he said, drawing an assortment of blushes and giggles from the women assembled.

"He's not technically wrong, Weiss," Ruby said, giggling awkwardly as Neo kissed her cheek again and Yang slumped against her, using her shoulder as a pillow. Unbeknownst to her, Penny frowned at the sight, then shook her head and sighed inaudibly. "I'm not saying anyone here would do that, but… he wouldn't exactly be high on the list of suspects if someone _did_."

"There's still the issue of perception," Weiss insisted, her own cheeks heating as she realized Ruby would likely put her at the top of such a list. "If someone realized his car was here overnight, there might be unsavory rumors drifting around your school."

"Hmm…" Ruby said, staring at Whitley for a long moment. Then, she said, "Nah. He's known to be part of our group, so it wouldn't be that odd."

"If you were still pre-teens, maybe," Yang said, yawning again. "Teenage and up is different, Rubes."

"And people know that Neo and I are together," Ruby added, wrapping an arm around Neo's shoulders as the shorter woman nestled closer and started using her shoulder as a pillow, too.

"Neo doesn't have a car, though, and if she says that she was here, too, that'll just breed a different sort of rumor," Penny said, smiling apologetically when Ruby turned her gaze to her. "Same with me if I stay, Ruby. People at school already think I have a crush on you, so this would only make things… weirder, I guess."

Desperate for support, Ruby looked to Neo, only for the woman with multi-colored eyes to shake her head and kiss Ruby's cheek apologetically. Ruby sighed, then said, "Okay, fine. I get when I'm outnumbered."

"Actually, thinking about it, I would've probably said no, anyway," Whitley said, chuckling and smiling sheepishly at her. "We've got our finals in two days, and I need to spend tomorrow studying."

"Oh, right, tomorrow's Sunday," Penny mumbled. "Sorry, I'll have to decline a sleepover, too. Ciel wants to make sure I can handle the biology final, and then wants to do something together. All she's said is that it's stress relief and then, because I asked, that it isn't sex," she added, her cheeks heating.

"We're just a whole bunch of perverts here, huh?" Weiss mumbled and shook her head, only to catch Yang's raised eyebrow and blush. "Yes, I'm including myself," she said to her, making the blonde chuckle.

"Well, at least you'll have me," Yang said, nuzzling her head against Ruby's cheek and producing a soft sound of protest.

"Thanks, Yang, but I don't think that counts as a sleepover," Ruby said, drawing a giggle from Neo. "Besides, the only reason for anyone other than us to actually spend the night here would be if we were going to the fishing village tomorrow to find the witch, which is what I'm hoping we can plan for. So, uh, Weiss? Neo?"

"I don't know if it'd be a good idea for me to stay," Weiss said slowly. She glanced briefly at Yang – who didn't notice, being half-asleep – before adding, "I'd be willing to, but… Well, you know why I probably shouldn't."

"Yang, any objections?" Ruby asked, drawing a yawn from the blonde at her shoulder.

"Nope," Yang mumbled, her eyes starting to drift shut again.

"Neo?" Ruby asked, turning her head to smile at her girlfriend. "Would you like to spend the night with me, my sister, and the girl who has a crush on my sister?"

"Hey!" Weiss exclaimed, her cheeks turning bright red as Whitley chuckled.

Neo smiled, shook her head in her version of a giggle, then kissed Ruby's cheek again and whispered, "Yes."

Ruby giggled as well, then turned to Penny. "I know you've already got plans tomorrow, Penny, but, well, since it's late anyway, would you like to stay, too? I can drop you off at your apartment after breakfast tomorrow, if you'd like," Ruby offered.

With an apologetic smile and a shake of her head, Penny said, "Sorry, but I shouldn't. If anyone found out, people would start talking behind our backs at school. A lot of our classmates already think that I've got a crush on you, remember?... Didn't I say all of this, like, a minute ago?"

Ruby tilted her head and thought for a moment, then said, "This close to finals, I don't think anyone will care. They'll just think it was a group study thing, or something, especially since Whitley's leaving without his sister who's probably still jetlagged. They'll just think that he felt awkward being the only guy in a house full of pretty women."

"Hey," Whitley said, though his tone made it seem like he was objecting more out of obligation than actual offense, which made his sister giggle. "Seriously, though, I agree. I can take you home if you want, Penny, but she's probably right that there's no harm in you spending the night here."

Penny sighed, despite her smile. "Thanks, but… If everyone's so insistent that I stay the night, I'm sure I can handle it," she said, giggling at the snort of laughter she got from Ruby. "It's okay with your mom, right, Ruby?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine with it," Ruby said. "Even if she's not at first, I'd just need to bring up _why_ you were all here so late and she'd give in."

"Is that so?"

Ruby laughed nervously as she looked behind her, the sight of her mother standing behind the couch with a small, sly smile on her lips making a chill run down her spine. "H-Hi, Mom," Ruby stammered out, making Neo shake her head again. "W-When did you g-get home?"

"A couple minutes ago," Summer said, her smile widening when she saw her daughter swallow nervously. Turning her silver eyes to Whitley, she added, "I appreciate what you're trying to avoid – and help my daughter avoid – but it's fine if you stay the night too, Whitley. No matter who they are, teenagers aren't willing to risk having an orgy when there's a parent in the same house. Trust me," she added, pretending to ignore the way Ruby's cheeks turned pink, "if something like that had happened, I'd have likely heard about it by now."

"Okay," Whitley said, stretching the word out as he stared at her for a long moment. "That's… not a word I'd have expected you to use, Mrs. Rose."

Summer's smile turned bitter, and her voice was subdued as she said, "I'm afraid it's just _Ms._ Rose, these days." Whitley winced, and hurried to stammer out an apology, only for Summer to interrupt him by saying, "No, it's quite alright, Whitley. I… It's still taking some getting used to, I'm afraid. But, seeing all of you together like this…" She trailed off, her smile becoming more genuine as she sighed. "Just… don't take risks, okay? Leave that for the adults."

"Uh, technically," Weiss began, wearing an apologetic smile, "Yang and I are adults, Ms. Rose."

"You know what I mean," Summer said, rolling her eyes overdramatically. "Kids these days," she grumbled, intentionally loud enough for them to hear, as she passed them and walked into the kitchen.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Hello, Mercury."

The words made him straighten – a crude attempt to hide the chill that ran down his spine – but all he said was, "This is where you've been? I'd have thought they'd have set you up in a hotel or something, Raven."

Raven snorted out a laugh, beckoning for him to join her. With a casual-looking leap, he'd jumped up onto the roof she was sitting on. "They did, but…" she began, only to trail off and sigh as she leaned back and stared up at the clear night sky above them. Her eyes tracing over one of the constellations, she said, "This is the only thing I can choose for myself anymore."

"What?" Mercury asked, his eyes tracing across her chest as she lowered herself onto her back – only for them to widen when the position tugged up her sweater, revealing what looked like a fresh bruise on her abdominals. "Dead gods below," he mumbled, staring at the purpled flesh.

"They brought in a Soul Binder," Raven said simply, making Mercury's eyes widen further. "I don't know how his powers work, but he can hurt me in ways no one else can."

"Shit," Mercury mumbled, his eyes going to hers before he remembered who he was looking at. He sat down next to her, silently looking out at the intact portions of the Harpy district as his mind raced.

"This is where I did it, you know," Raven said after a minute. Mercury turned to face her, only to find that her eyes were closed. "I didn't want to, but… I had to. He left me for someone else. I… I couldn't…"

As Raven trailed off, Mercury returned his gaze to the district in front of him, taking in the ruins and rubble before him with a new perspective. "This is where Taiyang Xiao Long died," he mumbled, taking in every detail that he could.

"This is where I killed my husband," Raven mumbled, practically whimpering. "I haven't felt… I haven't felt much of anything since then. I thought it would let me move on, that I'd find closure, but… I was wrong. I still think about him every day, see him in my dreams every night." She sighed, then sat up, eyes opening to stare down at the stained courtyard.

"There used to be a statue in that fountain," she said, pointing out the square assembly of stone. "He used one of his powers to animate it, to make it fight me, but I destroyed it in that cathedral over there," she continued, pointing to the crumbled ruins of the building across from them. "When I came out… He was dying. Bleeding to death, from everything that I'd done to him up to that point. He… He wanted me to stay away from his new family, and from our daughter." She laughed bitterly and shook her head. "One of the last things he said to me was that I shouldn't so much as say her name. And I…" She sighed, shaking her head again. "I haven't. I try not to think about her anymore."

"Really?" Mercury asked. "Why?"

"What's the point? She probably hates me, or she's scared of me, or both," Raven said, her eyes closing again. "It's better she stays with the family she knows, the family that loves her, than spend any time with the woman who killed her father."

Mercury stared at her for a long moment, utterly bewildered – and more than a little bit scared – by the way the woman he'd long been intimidated by, who _Cinder_ had been intimidated by, was breaking down.

"I still hear him, sometimes," Raven whispered, laying back down. "When I'm trying to figure out what to do, I hear his voice, giving me advice. But," she chuckled weakly, and, as Mercury watched speechlessly, a tear rolled down her cheek, "I followed it every time I heard it, and it led me here. Back to where I killed him. Only, now, a monster owns my soul, and I've felt actual, physical pain for the first time since I was little. Since Daddy was alive."

The word was enough to make Mercury swallow, fear briefly blazing through him. He couldn't imagine that a woman like Raven would use the term "Daddy" to refer to her father without there being some underlying issues that she hadn't resolved; combined with the way she was talking to him, which made him wonder what she felt he was to her, it made him suddenly, intensely aware of how Goliaths were unable to fully control their strength.

"Oh, relax, Mercury," Raven murmured, making him flinch; somehow, despite having her eyes closed, she'd known exactly what he was feeling. "Tai and my brother helped me through those issues a long time ago. But, much like Tai, I still love my father, despite everything he did to Qrow and me."

Mercury sighed in relief, though it was only partially genuine – he was still very aware of what she could do to him, and how he'd have no real way of stopping it. "I don't know what to say," he said after another minute of silence had hung heavily between them.

Raven snorted out a laugh, cracking one eye open to look at him. "Then… How about you tell me your story, Mercury?" she asked, staring at him intently despite how relaxed she otherwise seemed. "You know mine now, after all. It's only fair I know yours."

"I… I'm not sure I should," he said, turning away and facing the battered remains of the Harpy district. "I'm still young. My story's still being told."

"Hmm… Then let me guess. I know that you were born into the Family, technically. Your mother got pregnant after a one-night stand and then dumped you on your father after you were born. A paternity test revealed that you were really his, and he wasn't happy to be saddled with a child," Raven said, making Mercury's neutral frown turn into a furious scowl. "But he still raised you, the way he was raised: as an Assassin first and foremost. You were taught to be hard, to be brutal if needed, and to know what it was like to kill."

The image of a sparrow, lying motionless in his hands, flashed through Mercury's mind. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down, knowing that his instinct to plant his heel in Raven's mouth would only end with him losing his foot.

She noticed, and her lips quirked in a brief smile as she continued. "But you didn't like it, did you? The fear, the hate, the pain?" She sighed, staring up at the stars again. "I've been told that's a good thing. Not liking that sort of thing, I mean. It means you have empathy."

"Stop." Mercury's plea drew Raven's bloodred eyes to him.

But it wasn't enough. "I've never felt that, you know? The closest I've been to sharing someone's emotions was feeling something similar in return, but… caused by different stimuli. Well, technically the same stimuli," she added, watching him as he sat completely still, "but you know what I mean. I've never felt anyone's feelings but my own, except for just once."

"What? How?"

"Reviver. It's what he called himself, though I'm not sure why. Tai said he was a special kind of empath, one who could both feel and alter a person's emotions, and that he liked to help struggling couples grow closer to each other, for better or worse." She sighed again. "But Tai didn't take me to him for that. He wanted me to know what empathy felt like, so he asked Reviver to show me his emotions."

There was silence between them again, but Mercury eventually broke it, asking, "How was it?"

"Terrifying. Tai was worried that I'd… I don't know, do something wrong. But…" she trailed off and laughed, the oddly feminine nature of it startling Mercury; he'd only ever heard her chuckle before, and the sound she let out was nearly a giggle. "He was jealous, too. Reviver had to put a hand on me for it to work, and Tai felt a bit possessive of me because of it; I don't remember him ever acting jealous before that, so I think it was because I was pregnant at the time. And then… And there was his love for me. It was… warm," she mumbled, her eyes closing again as she basked in the memory. "No, not warm. Hot, like the sun, but… gentle. I got mad after that, at both of them, but it was mostly because I was embarrassed they'd seen me cry."

She sighed again, then said, "I wasn't crying for the reason you think, I bet. It wasn't out of… I don't know, appreciating how beautiful it was or something sappy like that. It was… It made me realize just how tiny and insignificant my emotions were. I loved him with all my heart – and I still do – but… compared to how bright and strong his emotions were, mine were almost non-existent." She sighed again. "I've felt hollow ever since, no matter what I feel or how strongly I feel it."

"Is that why you robbed that bank?" Mercury asked, making her sigh yet again.

"No. Tai was barely making enough to scrape by, and I'd lost my job shortly before I found out I was pregnant. Bills were piling up, student loans needed to be paid, and he was trying to build a PI business on top of having a daughter. We needed the money. It's that simple," she said, shrugging a shoulder. "I've had a long time to think about what happened that day, the things that went wrong, and robbing that bank isn't something I regret."

"But you regret that child?"

"You need to ask? She was barely older than… than my daughter was, at the time," Raven said, making an obvious effort to not say her name. "The only reason I decided to kill her was because she took off my mask, exposing me to the security cameras, and I'd said that I'd kill anyone who screwed with us."

Mercury stared at her for a moment longer, suddenly reminded of the true nature of the woman he was sitting next to. "That was it?" he finally asked, making her shrug again. "You… You killed her because you just saw her as another hostage?"

"Yes. That was it."

A chill ran down his spine, and he turned away, looking out instead at the months-old destruction before him. Time passed slowly for him, each second feeling like an hour as it ticked by silently. Eventually, Mercury rose to his feet, mumbled out how late it was, and left, lightly springing across the rooftops by the strength of his superpowered legs.

Raven sighed again and turned her eyes to the sky. "And it was the worst decision I've ever made," she muttered under her breath.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"That… explains a few things," Roman said, scowling at his desk. Velvet Scarlatina stood across from him, her normally pretty features hard and the rabbit-like ears atop her head pressed as close to her scalp as they could be. "You're certain of this?"

"I spent a day searching for evidence after he spoke to me," Velvet said. "All I could find were some tangential reports about him having a few bruises now and then."

"Cardin Winchester is a known Steel Soul," Roman said slowly, making Velvet flinch. "If he has even a single injury, that could serve as proof."

"Not in a court of law," Adam noted, drumming his fingers against his arm. Velvet glanced back at him and scowled at the sight of him leaning against the door to Roman's office, though she quickly turned away and shook her head dismissively. "Unless you're planning on acting on it yourself, boss, there's not much we can do for him."

Roman sighed and steepled his fingers, resting his chin on them as he stared up at the former soldier. "I cannot allow those sorts of things to continue happening in my city," he said, only to sigh again. "However, we don't have the manpower to deal with a mixed Brute like her, not with an even worse one skulking around Yharnum somewhere. Too many of our fighters would be hospitalized or worse for us to properly deal with Raven Branwen."

"I could see about hiring outside contractors," Velvet offered, paling as Roman turned his eyes to hers. "It might involve talking to one of the Cainhurst Families, though, and potentially forming an alliance with them."

"No. I refuse to allow vermin like them to pollute my city," Roman said firmly, his tone making Velvet pale further. Adam chuckled, and he smirked as Roman looked over at him again. "Is something funny, Taurus?" Roman asked flatly, his voice hard.

"I think I know what to do about Isolde Winchester," Adam said, his smirk only widening as Roman quirked an eyebrow at him. "She's just like Raven, right? Just weaker in every way?"

"By all accounts," Velvet said, scowling at him again. "Why?"

"Then why don't we treat her like it?" Adam asked, chuckling again. "I happen to know of a few people who're chomping at the bit for a chance to kill Raven. Why not let them try out their plan on Isolde first?"

"How, exactly, would we manage to tell Detective Rose and Police Chief Belladonna about this?" Velvet asked, not noticing the way Roman's eyes darkened behind her.

"He's not talking about those two," Roman said, his voice utterly devoid of emotion. "If you want to involve my niece's partner and her sister in this, you need to ensure their survival, Taurus. If you don't, you won't survive it either."

"The day they come to harm because of me is the day I take my own life," Adam swore, bowing his head. "Blake Belladonna considers them her family, and I owe her far too much to ever betray her. No offense, sir," he added, smirking again as he looked back up at Roman.

"We all have our vows, Adam," Roman said, nodding approvingly. Velvet looked back and forth between them, perplexed, as Roman continued. "I do not ask unerring loyalty of my employees; I run a business, not a cult."

"Thank you, boss," Adam said, nodding in return. "I promise, they'll return home healthy and whole, and Cardin Winchester will never have to deal with his mother's abuse again."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Ruby's eye twitched as she glared up at the ceiling. "How can I say no?" she grumbled softly; still, she felt the figure sleeping next to her shift. "I'm in. But if you can't get everything together before noon, I'm gonna be pissed."

Adam's laugh sounded from her phone's speaker, only to be cut off as she hung up on him. Ruby sighed, closing her eyes as she felt the arm encircling her waist tighten and pull her closer to the warmth at her back. "What was that about?" Yang murmured, still half-asleep.

"Adam," Ruby grumbled, only to sigh again and open her eyes as she felt the warmth in front of her shift and turn to face her. "Sorry for waking you up, Neo," she said, staring into her girlfriend's multi-colored eyes. "That was… something we can't really put off. We might have to pick another day to talk to the witch."

Neo sighed herself, then sat up and stretched, smiling down at Ruby when she noticed the attention she was paying to the shorter woman's chest. At Ruby's blush, Neo pecked a kiss onto her cheek, then rose to her feet and delicately picked her way across the living room, avoiding the other young women still sleeping on the other inflatable mattress Summer had found. _Want anything to drink?_ Neo signed at Ruby.

 _Tea?_ Ruby signed back, making Yang let out a wordless, discontented murmur at the way her sister shifted in her grasp.

Neo, instead of signing back a "yes", gave her a thumbs-up and a smile before she slipped into the kitchen.

Ruby sighed again, her eyes nearly drifting shut as she wondered how long she'd be able to stay there, her very warm sister snuggled up against her back. After a minute, though, she removed herself from Yang's grip and sat up, feeling a familiar pang of disappointment as Yang whined near-silently at her.

"What time is it?" Yang mumbled, her words barely intelligible.

"About seven," Ruby whispered back, running a hand through Yang's long blonde hair. "Breakfast?"

Yang murmured a wordless agreement, and Ruby stood, following Neo to the kitchen with the same precise placements of her feet between the wall and the inflatable air mattress that Weiss and Penny were still asleep on.

"Oh, good morning," Ruby said, despite her surprise, when she saw Whitley sitting at the kitchen table. He looked up from the textbook opened in front of him to return the greeting, then went right back to reading. "You're really that serious about studying?" Ruby asked, drawing a sigh from him.

"I don't do well with history," Whitley said, idly sliding his hand beneath the page he was on in preparation to turn to the next. "Probably because it's not my country's history. Some last-minute cramming can only help me, especially since the test is _tomorrow_ ," he added pointedly, glancing up at the two young women in the room.

"Still, this early?" she asked, walking over to where Neo was waiting. She gave her girlfriend a peck on the cheek before leaning past her to grab a few utensils from the ceramic jar on the counter, making Neo blush and scowl playfully at her. "Any preference for breakfast? I was thinking eggs and toast, and maybe bacon."

"That sounds fine."

"Great. Neo?" Ruby asked. "Any objections?"

Neo signed a negative her way, then leaned in to kiss her. "Thank you, sweetie," she whispered against Ruby's ear, making the younger woman blush, before she went back to the stove and checked on the tea kettle, which had just started whistling.

"Morning." Penny's voice startled Ruby, who dropped the wooden spoon she held as she moved to set it down gently. Penny gave the shaken brunette an odd look before she sat down at the table, groggily resting her chin on her hand. "Did I miss something?" Penny asked, running her fingers through her hair in a futile attempt to get it to settle down.

"Not really," Whitley said, turning the page in his textbook.

 _Want some tea?_ Neo signed at Penny, who shrugged and nodded.

"Thanks, Neo," Penny said. She yawned, then added, "Odd that we're the ones who got up first."

"Not really," Ruby said, throwing a smile her way as she pulled a carton of eggs from the fridge. "Weiss has been busy working with us ever since she got off that sixteen-hour flight from Atlas, so she's probably still dealing with her jet lag, and Yang… well, she likes to sleep a lot when she's on her period."

"Didn't need to hear that," Whitley said, making Ruby giggle at him.

"What? You're not used to talk like that? I thought you had two older sisters," Ruby said teasingly, making him sigh. "Fine, fine."

"Thank you," Penny mumbled as Neo set a ceramic mug of tea in front of her. "Is it caffeinated?" she asked, only to sigh when Neo glanced pointedly at Ruby. "Right. Still, thanks."

A few moments went by in near silence, the only sounds made by Ruby preparing breakfast for them – only Whitley looked up when she made an odd exclamation. His eyebrow went up when he saw her greedily biting into a slice bread while she put two more into the toaster in front of her; when she noticed him watching, Ruby blushed and, with a mouth full of bread, mumbled, "You know how hungry I get." Whitley chuckled, then returned to his studying.

Neo rolled her eyes and set a mug full of tea in front of Ruby, who immediately picked it up and took a sip. She sighed in delight at the vast quantities of sugar and hint of milk she tasted and smiled at her girlfriend, saying, "Thanks, Neo."

Neo smiled back and pressed a kiss to her lips, only to quietly sigh and glance over at Weiss as the white-haired woman entered the room, rubbing at her eyes and yawning. Neo set a mug of tea in front of her a moment later, producing a murmured "Thanks," from her.

Shortly after, Yang entered as well. From her angle at the kitchen's doorway, she was able to see Ruby frowning pensively down into the saucepan she was cooking eggs in, and asked, "What's wrong, Rubes? One of them have a beak or something?"

"No," Ruby said, giving her sister an odd look. "Why?"

"You're glaring at those eggs like they stole your ice cream," Yang said, settling herself weightily into a chair. "What's wrong?"

Ruby sighed, then spent a moment chewing her lip before she said, "I got a call from Adam, earlier. Remember? Anyway, he asked me to help him with… something."

"Something?" Yang parroted back, raising an eyebrow at her. "What, exactly, is 'something'?"

"Well… you remember Cardin Winchester?" Ruby asked, only to flinch when she looked behind her and saw the hateful expression on Neo's face. "Y-yeah, him. Sorry, Neo. It involves helping him… kind of."

"What does that mean?" Yang asked, a sour expression marring her own features.

"Well, uh, it's about his mom." Ruby bit her lip and took a deep breath before she continued, blurting out, "She's been raping him for the last eight years."

Silence settled over the room, the only sound being the sizzling of eggs over the stove. "What?" Weiss asked, her voice flat. "Is that… really?"

"According to Adam, who heard it from Velvet, who heard it from Cardin himself. She said he was drinking, but not completely drunk, so it's either real or some elaborate lie that the Family in Cainhurst made up in an attempt to compromise Yharnum's underworld's ability to fend them off," Ruby said, shrugging a shoulder. "But… that's a bit too… you know, 'conspiracy theory' for me to buy. It's… I hate to say it, but it's easier to believe that someone would be that much of a monster."

"Damn it," Yang mumbled, gritting her teeth as she slumped further into her seat. "What's the catch?"

"The catch? More like why he called me in the first place," Ruby said, letting out a weak laugh. "Cardin's mother, Isolde Winchester, is a Brute, Yang. A Goliath and a Steel Soul, just like Raven. Guess why he wants me in on this."

"Practice," Yang growled out. She took a deep breath, then let it out in a sigh. "So, what's the plan, Ruby? Split up or team up?"

"From what Velvet managed to find out, Isolde's not anywhere near Raven in terms of toughness or strength. Even if we manage to take her out, and even if everything we can come up with to weaken Raven actually works, there's no guarantee that we'll actually be able to take her down for good," Ruby said, her voice flat and monotonous as she stated the facts as she knew them. "The witch is our lifeline, Yang. We need to talk to her, ASAP."

"I'm not letting you tangle with Cardin's mother alone, Ruby," Yang said firmly, folding her arms over her chest. "Former military or not, Adam's a normal guy. He can't help you the way one of us could."

"I didn't say he was going to be the only person there," Ruby said, picking up the saucepan in front of her and dumping the scrambled eggs it contained out onto a plate. As she set it back down and poured in more beaten eggs from the drinking glass she'd put next to the stove, she said, "He's bringing in a pyrokinetic who's apparently been in town for a couple years now."

"What? Who?" Penny asked, startled. When she'd first come to Yharnum, it had been as a pyrokinetic with very little control over her powers; Ruby – and occasionally Yang – had enabled her to practice with them by suppressing any flames that got out of hand. So, learning about another pyrokinetic who'd arrived around the same time as her and decided to stay was something that didn't sit well with her.

"I don't know. I won't meet her until a few minutes before we go after Isolde," Ruby said, bringing the plate of scrambled eggs – as well as another loaded with bacon – over to the table. "But, there is some good news," she added as she picked up another plate, this one bearing a dozen slices of toast, and brought it over to the table as well. "I can bring along anyone I want, as long as they've got a power or know how to work a gun."

Almost instantly, Neo sighed and nodded, her multi-colored eyes blazing fiercely as she signed that she wanted to help.

"I… Really, Neo?" Ruby asked, frowning at her.

 _Yes. He might be a jerk, but he is the reason we met._

Ruby giggled faintly, a smile flitting to her lips just as it did Neo's. "Well, I guess that's true," Ruby said, scratching her cheek sheepishly. "Still, though, are you sure? This is probably gonna be the most dangerous thing we've ever done."

Neo nodded again, then grabbed Ruby's sleeve and pulled her down to kiss her. Yang chuckled at the sight, making both young women blush and pull apart, but Neo met Ruby's eyes and nodded again.

"Well, I guess I could let you go without me," Yang said, smirking at Ruby as she folded her arms. Despite her attempt, it was plainly evident that she was wary about her sister going off to fight a Brute; the glint in her violet eyes held more than a hint of fear, and there was a light green tint to her cheeks. "Still, though, I think I'm a bit nervous about going to see that witch on my own," she added after a moment, scratching her cheek sheepishly. "Who'd go with me if not you, sis?"

"I can," Weiss offered, smiling nervously at the blonde. "I might be a bit awkward when it comes to meeting new people, but I can at least be there for emotional support. If you'll have me, I mean."

Yang looked at her, then back to Ruby, before she nodded and said, "Okay, sure. That works too, I guess. Still, though, unless you're willing to let me borrow your car, Rubes, I don't think we'll be able to handle three hours on my bike."

"Yeah, that's fine," Ruby said, returning to the stove – and the up until now abandoned bacon and eggs sizzling atop it. "Neo and I won't be leaving Yharnum, so we can take a bus if we need to. Oh, but you'll need to get gas somewhere," she added. "My car doesn't get good enough mileage to make it through all that on one tank."

"Got it."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Gods alive," Mercury mumbled as he put his phone back down, the alarm he'd set the night before having blared at him for more than a minute before he'd mustered the presence of mind to turn it off. He groaned and rubbed at his forehead, trying to temper the headache he knew he'd soon have. "How did I manage to get roped into this?"

After a moment, he sighed and pulled himself from his bed, gathered up a change of clothes, then tiredly lurched his way out into the hallway. He mumbled something incoherent as Emerald emerged from the bathroom they shared a second before he got there, her red eyes widening for a brief moment.

"All yours," she said, wrapping a towel around her hair as she sidled past him and made her way to the kitchen. "You should really stop sleeping naked, by the way," she added, flashing a grin at him before she disappeared around a corner.

Mercury frowned after her, then looked down at his state of undress and sighed. "Damn it. When'd I start doing that?" he mumbled as he walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

Half an hour later, he emerged, wearing a pair of grey slacks and a grey shirt. He yawned again as he headed to the kitchen, then again when he started fixing himself a cup of coffee.

"Are we doing it again this morning?" he asked tiredly as he sat at the table, where Emerald was finishing her breakfast.

"I thought we agreed to do it every day until I could consider myself 'better'," Emerald said, setting down what was left of her bagel. "I need to be able to… recognize certain things for what they are, rather than what I'd want them to be, and I need someone I can trust to help me with it."

"And you don't trust anyone else with this? Not even Cinder."

"No. As much as I… uh, like her," Emerald said, blushing as she stumbled over the words she wanted to say, "I can't trust her to not program me to follow things _her_ way. I want to know what _mine_ would be, not hers."

"Still, though, this is… not something I'm used to doing," Mercury said, staring at the box of matches as he picked them up. He lit one, then used it to light the three bronze-colored candles sitting in between them. "And I'm not sure I can keep my own biases out of your head, either," he added after a moment.

"And I'm sure that we talked about all of this yesterday," Emerald said, halfheartedly scowling at him. "Now, are we going to do this or not?"

"Fine, fine," Mercury said. He glanced down at the candles, looking at the golden flames flickering on their wicks, then met Emerald's eyes. "Okay, you ready? Stare into the flames."

Emerald let out a breath as she followed his instruction, careful not to get ahead of him for fear of ruining the attempt.

"Focus on them," Mercury continued, glancing down at the book propped up next to him. "Tune out everything but the flames and my voice. Let them echo into your mind, your heart, your very soul."

Emerald let out another breath, her eyes starting to glaze over as she followed his instruction.

"Your mind is growing sluggish, your eyes heavy. Listen to my voice. You are getting tired. Look into the flames," he continued, sliding one of the candles towards her. Once he'd pulled his hand away, it reacted to her closer proximity – and the power she held, turning a pale shade of purple.

Mercury repeated those same four sentences twice more, each time sliding another candle closer to her. "Stare deeply into the flames," he said, a pang of guilt making him cringe at the detached state Emerald was in. Her eyes were glassy, her breathing slow and deep, and her lips parted. "Stare deeply into the flames," he repeated, then took a deep breath to calm himself. "When I next say your name, Emerald Sustrai, you will awaken – but not remember anything you experienced between then and now."

He paused, then took another breath. 'Gods forgive me for this,' he thought to himself, staring at the woman across from him. "Raise your right hand," Mercury commanded. When she did, he ordered her to lower it back down, which she did. "Hear my words. Let them become part of you."

Mercury paused again, self-disgust rolling through him. He knew he was only doing what she wanted, what she'd _told_ him to do: _"Help me be normal," Emerald had said. "Make me less clingy, make me see these stupid little events in a way that won't make me fall in love with everyone who gives me the time of day. Please, Mercury."_

But he knew _why_ she became what she was. He'd been taught many of the same things. _Find their secrets. See meaning in every gesture. Leave no stone unturned._ But, there was still one major difference between them. One person who'd shaped Emerald's life more than any other.

"You do not love Cinder Fall."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"This is the fishing village?" Weiss asked. She spoke quietly, the solitude of the isolated settlement grating on her nerves. Despite having been in the village for a few minutes now, she and Yang had yet to see another person amid the ramshackle wooden buildings, placed so sporadically that the sole "road" – little more than a footpath of compacted dirt – felt like an otherworldly being in and of itself; it didn't help that they'd been forced to leave their car more than half a mile away in the only parking lot they'd found in the whole village. "Is this… normal?"

"I… I'm not sure," Yang said, wincing when she found herself whispering as well. "I remember there being more people, but… that might have been because I was here with my family. I don't remember it looking this run down before, either," she added, staring at a boarded-up window as she and Weiss walked by. Her gaze then locking onto an old-looking iron lantern hanging from what used to be an electric streetlight, she mumbled, "What in the world…?"

"Let's just try to find that witch," Weiss said, wrapping her arms tightly around her chest as a chill slid through her, despite the heat of the late summer morning. "This place is giving me the creeps."

"Seconded," Yang said, nodding minutely as she glanced back down at the slip of paper she'd written the witch's address on. "If only there were any street signs, this would be easier," she muttered.

"Wait, what was the address again?" Weiss asked quickly. Yang handed the paper to her, only to raise an eyebrow when Weiss looked between it and one of the nearby buildings. "I think that might be it," she said, nodding at the single smallest house on the block. "It has the same numbers."

"Huh. Nice one, Weiss," Yang said, flashing her a quick, nervous smile before she started towards the house. Weiss froze for a moment, then mentally cursed herself and took her first few steps quickly to catch up; the smile had reminded her of why she'd developed her crush on the blonde.

Oddly, she found herself remembering that day – not just with perfect clarity, but with an odd insistence, as if the memory was afraid that she might forget it.

 _For the third day in a row, Weiss sat by herself in Beacon High's cafeteria, her metal lunchbox already open. Its contents were arranged neatly, but for a long moment she couldn't bring herself to do more than stare at the simple sandwich and bag of baby carrots. Finally, she sighed and dug in – although her meal tasted even more hollow than it had the day before._

 _Until she heard a voice behind her. "Hey."_

 _She was so startled that she bit her cheek–_

And the pain roused her from the memory.

Weiss paused, blinking, and shook her head. It wasn't until she'd repeated this three times that she finally accepted that she – and Yang – were further away from the house than she'd been when the memory had captured her.

"What was that?" Weiss mumbled softly, glancing over at Yang – only for her eyes to widen when she noticed the blonde's were still glazed over. "Yang?" Weiss asked, reaching out and touching her shoulder. When Yang didn't respond, she shook her and repeated her name more loudly.

After a moment, Yang stirred, blinking repeatedly. She let out a yawn, though it seemed odd, even to herself, and mumbled, "What was that?"

"I think it means we're on the right track, at least," Weiss said, startling Yang – and making her realize that the Schnee's hand was on her.

"Uh, Weiss?" Yang asked, glancing at her hand.

"Sorry," Weiss said, smiling apologetically at her. "It seemed better than slapping you, at least."

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure. Some sort of… memory trap, I guess?"

"Great," Yang mumbled, letting out a sigh. "Should we try it again? Or… does this mean we should leave?"

"It took us three hours to get here, Yang," Weiss huffed, folding her arms over her chest. "I'm not leaving until we at least speak to this witch."

"I guess… So, should we bash our heads against this so called 'trap' until it breaks?"

"Let's do it."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Rough wooden boards skewing at odd angles from where windows used to be. Paint so old that it peeled in the harsh summer sunlight, revealing whitewashed wooden panels beneath. A lawn of plastic grass, small bits of garbage strewn about it.

It was not what Ruby had expected to see. Nor had she expected to feel Neo's grip on her arm tighten as she saw it. She took a long, deep breath, hand moving to the small metal bar she had hidden in her belt; its weight was unfamiliar, but comforting, as she stared at the house of the woman she'd been recruited to help murder.

"Okay, we all know what we're here to do," Adam said, startling Ruby. When she looked over at him, she found his metal eyes on her, making her shiver; despite having known them for nearly two years now, those eyes still managed to frighten her at times. "Let's get this over with."

"Got it, boss," Limbani said, idly cracking her neck. Ruby still wasn't sure what to make of her: covered in small scars from knives and bullets alike, her dark skin was marred in a dozen different ways. Silky black hair cascaded down her head, framing her face and making her dark green eyes seem brighter. She turned to look at Ruby when she felt her gaze on her, her eyebrow going up and her denim jacket swaying from the motion. "Something wrong, girl?"

Ruby blinked, then shook her head. "No, sorry. Just… Sorry."

"Careful, girl, or your little girlfriend is gonna get jealous," Limbani said, winking at the two of them before she returned her gaze to Adam as he prepared their entry.

Nothing about her seemed like a pyrokinetic to Ruby, but she just shook her head again. 'I shouldn't have thought she'd be like Penny,' she thought, glancing briefly at Neo – who only smiled at her – before returning her gaze to Adam as well.

"Okay, let's do this," Adam said, snapping his weapon's single chamber shut once he'd finished loading a round into it. He hefted it up with both hands, raised its sight to his eye, then fired.

A low _whumph_ pulsed from the grenade launcher, stirring the air around the four of them and making Ruby's bangs whip around her eyes. Not even a second later, the round contacted the building before them – and exploded in a concussive burst, unnoticeable save for the pulverized front wall of the Winchesters' residence. Flames sparked to life as the grinding of drywall and half-rotted wood drew up sparks, all fanned to life by the whirling winds that Ruby was using to dampen the sound of the explosion.

"What the fuck?!" came the shout from the house's sole remaining resident only a moment later. Isolde Winchester stumbled out from the shattered remains of a room, steely-grey eyes wide with shock and fury. Her shoulder-length black hair was laden with splinters, and her grey tank top was smoldering along one side.

'She's… pretty,' Ruby thought, surprised, as she stared at the older woman. 'And… not even forty?'

"What the fuck?!" Isolde repeated, her eyes widening further as Adam loaded another round in his grenade launcher. "Who the fuck are you assholes?!"

Instead of answering, Adam just fired at her again, nailing her clean in the chest with a grenade. The air seemed to pulse oddly as it exploded, blue shreds of misty light – not unlike the ability that the Schnee possessed – falling from her and seeming to shove the distortion away as it appeared. Adam straightened as he lowered the weapon, his eyebrows slowly rising up. "That… is something we weren't briefed on," he mumbled, tossing the grenade launcher to Neo, who caught it delicately. "Corpse, Airhead, mix it up."

"Roger," Ruby and Limbani said simultaneously, each lifting a hand. Ghostly-blue lines of flame lanced from the fingertips that Limbani pointed at the thoroughly shocked Winchester, then expanded into a tremendously wide cone as they met the concentrated oxygen that Ruby sent through them. The resulting blast shrouded Isolde from sight and shook more timbers loose from the mostly destroyed building – only for her to reappear a moment later, more scraps of blue mist-light falling from her as she ran through the flames at them.

Neo reacted instantly, tossing the grenade launcher at Isolde – then gripping it with her own talent and twisting the metal it was made from into bands that encircled the older woman's legs. Isolde cried out as she fell, panic momentarily shining through the crazed look in her eyes, only to catch herself on her hands and snap the restraints with an almost casual flex of her legs.

"Shit," Adam mumbled, pulling another weapon from the trunk of his car. Unlike the rounded tube that made up the majority of his grenade launcher, this weapon was oddly boxy, its barrel extending only two inches out from the mass of black steel. When he fired, it let out a chattering burst of sound and a spray of bullets, forcing Isolde back to the ground before she could get her feet beneath her. "Plan C," he said, raising his voice to be heard over his continued suppressing fire.

"No," Isolde murmured, lifting her head to glare at him. "I don't think so."

She rolled to the side, practically ignoring the bullets that bounced off her skin, then slammed her fist down into the ground. With a grunt and a mighty heave, she tugged a chunk of concrete out of the sidewalk and hefted it in front of her; chips and shards fell from it as Adam continued firing, backing up slowly as Isolde started walking toward him.

"Get lost!" she shouted, throwing the block of concrete at him when she noticed a lull in bullets hammering into her makeshift shield. Her eyes widened when it smashed into the ground beyond where he'd been, tearing up lawns across the street – and saw him reloading his weapon more than a dozen feet to the side, walking in a circle around her.

She didn't have long to watch him, though. An abnormally heavy gale of wind slammed into her chest, picking her up off the ground and throwing her back into the ruined remains of her home. A basketball-sized orb of blue flame followed, exploding into a colossal sphere that nearly swallowed the entire building. A smoldering timber soon flew from the flames to where Adam had been standing only a moment ago, its passing exposing Isolde – who was still unharmed – as she stood in what was left of her home.

Isolde strode out of her home, idly brushing ash off her shoulder as she glared at the people sent to kill her. She opened her mouth to speak, only to gasp in surprise as Neo fired a shotgun at her knee; the force of the blast made the small woman stumble, but it was enough to knock Isolde's leg out from under her, sending her face first into the ground. Neo fired again as Isolde lifted an arm to ram it into the concrete beneath her, knocking it to the side and preventing her from repeating her earlier tactic.

And then a small gash appeared on her cheek.

Isolde flinched at the pain, then, blinking in surprise, touched it with a finger. "Is this… Am I bleeding?" she mumbled to herself, looking at each of them in turn – only for her eyes to lock onto Ruby, whose own were narrowed in concentration, her hand raised and palm turned to the woman lying prone. "You… How?"

Ruby grimaced as she repeated her strike, sending a minute blade of air at Isolde. Her abilities as a Steel Soul, and the other ability she had displayed during the short battle, were no match for a blade composed of gas; when it sliced through her left eye, all Isolde could do was scream.

"What's taking so long, Airhead?" Limbani asked, glancing worriedly at Ruby.

"This takes a lot of concentration," Ruby said, her teeth clenched together and a bead of sweat trailing down her forehead. "Since I have to keep the bubble up to keep no one from noticing this, it'll take a while to make each blade – and even longer if I need to explain everything!"

She let out another blade of air at Isolde, who only managed to avoid it thanks to her pained thrashing – but she was slowly recovering her wits, and leveled a harsh glare at Ruby, her left eye firmly shut and trailing blood and other fluids down her cheek. Isolde let out a wild scream, and more misty blue light fell from her body, startling Neo enough to make her fire her shotgun at her again. Only the edge of the blast caught Isolde, but that mist-light caught the small lead pellets it contained; they hung suspended in midair for a long moment, startling Neo long enough for Isolde to rise to her feet.

"Assholes," Isolde mumbled, still glaring at Ruby. "Assholes!" she repeated in a shout, even more mist-light falling from her. Her ruined eye still clenched tightly shut, she lifted a hand and balled it into a fist – and the birdshot that her mist had caught shot back at Neo.

The pellets curved around her, deflected by a reflexive use of her power, but her eyes widened and she inhaled sharply at the display. She glanced over at Ruby, who grit her teeth and sent another blade of compressed air at Isolde, but the scratch it left on her arm was so shallow that it didn't even draw blood.

"What's the plan, boss?" Limbani asked softly as she jogged over to Adam.

He grimaced. "You sure you can't collapse Isolde's lungs?"

"My powers don't work like that. My flames don't normally eat oxygen; anything I make that does has to come from my skin, so I'd have to get real close to her to do that."

"Not an option, then. Looks like we're going with F, then: pin Isolde long enough that Ruby can get in a kill shot," Adam said, lifting his gun again and firing off another chattering burst at Isolde, knocking aside a clumsy punch she'd thrown at Ruby. Not that he'd needed to – Ruby had jumped up into the air and grasped her power, a compact gale of wind around each foot and a larger one encircling her waist allowing her to fly.

Ruby's eyes widened when she saw Isolde dip into a squat, knowing that the jump to follow would find her no matter how quickly she tried to avoid it. But she tried anyway, turning sideways and darting to the side, one hand throwing balls of air as compacted as she could make them in a halfhearted attempt to throw off Isolde's concentration. With her other, Ruby hooked her fingers through the belt she wore and wrapped them around it tightly.

When Isolde leaped for her, Ruby felt her belt – and the small bit of metal she'd tucked into it – tug her towards Neo, who pulled on her with her own power. Isolde let out a wordless cry of frustration as her momentum carried her away, her sole remaining eye casting a harsh glare down at the brunette who'd taken the other.

"You okay?" Neo whispered as Ruby landed next to her, both of them watching with no small amount of worry as Isolde started falling back down.

"Yeah. Thanks, Neo," Ruby said, giving her a small smile before returning her gaze to Isolde just in time to see the older woman land. She crashed into the ground hard enough to crack the road beneath her, the impact driving the air from her lungs as more mist-light fell from her. "What is that stuff?" Ruby muttered to herself, trying to remember if her father had ever described such a power to her.

"No time," Neo whispered, gently brushing her fingers against Ruby's before she retreated, backing away as quickly as she could as Isolde returned to her feet.

"Okay," Isolde said, her breaths coming out in harsh huffs as even more misty light swelled up around her. " _Now_ I'm mad."

She lifted a hand, and mist rushed forth, distinct tendrils of the substance forming as they snaked out at Ruby. The brunette lifted a hand in return, sending a powerful gale of wind at the mist, only for it to pass through it – as if the mist wasn't real.

"Oh, fuck," Ruby mumbled, flinging herself to the side as the mist stabbed at her; her dodge caused the tendrils to ram into the sidewalk she stood on, punching holes into it and ripping up chunks of concrete as they tore themselves free. She took to the air, narrowly dodging a dozen different strikes as she propelled herself twenty feet up. One strand of mist, far thinner than the rest, grazed her cheek as she avoided a particularly thick one, making her eyes widen – only for them to widen further as the bulky lengths she'd been dodging split into a dozen thin threads each.

Knowing that trying to avoid that many individual projectiles – as she'd decided they were – was outright impossible for her, Ruby shot up into the sky, ignoring the little voice in the corner of her mind that told her someone would see her if she went higher than the nearby buildings. She changed direction in small adjustments, avoiding moving in bursts of speed in opposite directions that would batter and bruise her as she avoided the few strands that could catch up to her. All the while, she maintained the wall of shifting winds around their battlefield, trapping in the gunshots and explosions to keep them from prying ears – as well as a similar trick of wind, one that let her listen to the people beneath her.

And one person in particular.

Ruby's lips stretched in a relieved smirk as she heard the little _puff-puff_ of Adam's paintball gun; it only widened when she heard Isolde's outraged cry, and still further when she saw that the mist-light had stopped chasing her. So, dispelling the gales she was using to propel herself and increasing the air resistance above her, Ruby slowed herself to a stop, turning her gaze back down on the ground hundreds of feet away.

A moment later, gravity took hold of her and started dragging her back down.

Limbani let out a grunt of effort as blue flame streaked from her fingers, only to be swallowed up by the returning mist-light before it could reach Isolde. The Winchester's face was covered in silvery liquid, some of which had already soaked into her skin – and some into her mouth.

"Gah!" Isolde grunted as she spat, trying to rid herself of as much of the fluid as possible. "What is this shit?!"

"Mercury," Adam said, a small smile lighting on his lips as he watched Isolde try to spit it out. "Or quicksilver, if you'd prefer. By now, it's already working its way into your bloodstream."

"Huh?" Isolde asked, looking over at him – only to let out a huff of breath as the effort to turn her head seemed suddenly monumental. "What the…" she trailed off, her legs refusing to support her as she collapsed to the ground. "What did you do to me?!" she screamed, weakly trying to lift herself up on her arms – only for them to give out as well.

"It shouldn't be working this quickly," Limbani mumbled, just loudly enough for Adam to hear her.

"Must be something to do with that mist of hers," Adam murmured back, refusing to take his eyes off the screaming Winchester.

Ruby landed gently beside them, the currents of air she used to cushion her fall causing Limbani's hair and Adam's coat to whip around. "Is that normal?" she asked softly as she watched Isolde weakly thrash around, her mist-light falling to the ground and fading away nearly as fast as she could conjure it.

"Who knows?" Adam asked. "She's still got enough of a hold over that mist stuff to keep a bullet away, so Mother Mary's not going to work," he added, running his thumb over the handle of the gun he wore at his hip. "Ruby, I hate to put this on you, but it looks like you're our only option."

Ruby swallowed, took a deep breath, and shuffled toward the prone Brute, intensely aware of every step she took. Isolde looked up at her as she approached, fear shining in her steely-grey eye as it met the gaze of her soon-to-be killer. "Why?" Isolde asked. Even her voice was weak, and the corners of her mouth had drooped precipitously, almost as if she'd had a stroke.

"Why?" Ruby repeated, though it wasn't to mock her – it was to ask the question in return. "Why did you do those things to Cardin? Your own son?"

Isolde blinked at Ruby, her mouth drooping open in surprise. "Cardin… He was my angel," Isolde mumbled, turning her gaze to the road. "Those months I was pregnant with him were the best of my life. I had a loving boyfriend, my parents doted on me, and my cousin… he finally left me alone. All those years, and he was finally done with me," she said, giggling drowsily, as if in a trance. "But, after I gave birth to Cardin… my life got worse. My boyfriend left me, my parents ditched me – but my cousin stayed away from me, too. Cardin was my angel, and I… I couldn't bear to not have him inside me, even if it was just a little bit of him."

Ruby's stomach churned as she listened to Isolde, and she wondered if she'd even be able to muster the nerve to finish her off.

"It was because Cardin had his eyes," Isolde continued, giggling again. "Not my boyfriend's, but… His. They knew what had happened, and I was blamed for it. Not him. Me."

Ruby swallowed, her heart sinking in her chest as Isolde's story turned into mumbled repetitions of "He was my angel." She went to her knees before the older woman, who was now so out of sorts that she didn't even realize when Ruby placed her hands over her ears.

Isolde gasped as Ruby formed blades of air directly inside of her skull, destroying her brain. Ruby swallowed again as she let go of her head and backed away, tears forming in her eyes as she saw blood and liquified grey matter leaking from her ears and nose.

Ruby started, a nearly inaudible squeak leaving her lips as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, saw the gleaming steel of Adam's cybernetic eyes, and started to cry.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

 _Blood._

 _It filled her nose with its putrid scent, making her stomach roil, but it didn't keep her from striding forward proudly, her head held high._

 _It wasn't until she saw her that she knew something had gone wrong._

 _For a moment, Weiss thought it was her sister, Winter – but then she saw the woman standing next to her. Yang Xiao Long – but not. The blonde looked to be in her thirties, was wearing a pair of trousers that looked far less constricting than her usual attire, and held a tremendous sword in one hand so easily it almost seemed fake, given its considerable girth; it was nearly as long as she was tall, and ever-so-slightly broader than her shoulders. The white-haired woman beside her held a weapon as well, a stake-like sword that seemed to sag in her grip; the sweat on her brow and the way she held her weapon made the older Weiss's fatigue seem obvious to her younger self._

" _Damn things," the older Weiss spat, the motion highlighting the scar across her cheek to her younger self's eye. "Not even stopping to think of how impolite it is to take a lady's time like this, much less two of them."_

 _Yang chuckled, easily swinging her sword up and placing the back of its blade across her shoulders. "Come on, Weiss. They're probably waiting for us."_

 _It was only now that the younger Weiss realized where they were standing. It was a place that she recognized, albeit only barely – not only had she been to the Harpy district only twice before, she'd never seen it in such a state of crumbling ruin, nor had she seen the tops of its ruined buildings highlighted against a smoky, blood-red sky._

 _A crackle made Weiss – both older and younger – flinch, making Yang chuckle again as she drew a small radio from her blouse's pocket. "Didn't get that. Repeat, over," Yang said into it._

 _More crackling sounded through it, but then a voice – which Weiss only barely recognized as Ruby's – came through. "… taken… KOS in the fishi-… Repeat: Penny was…"_

" _Oh, no," the older Weiss mumbled, her eyes going wide as she stared at the radio. Another moment passed, but static was all that came through. "That thing has Penny?"_

" _Seems like it," Yang said, gritting her teeth as she tucked the still-crackling radio back into her pocket. "In the fishing village, it sounded like."_

" _Damn it," Weiss mumbled. She shook her head fiercely, then, her blue eyes seeming to deepen, turned to Yang and said, "We're going to help, right?"_

" _By the dead gods, yes," Yang said, flashing her a grin, one which made the younger Weiss's knees feel weak but only made the elder grin back at her._

 _The younger Weiss bit her lip –_

And the illusion faded.

"What in dying flame?" Weiss mumbled, blinking repeatedly as she found herself staring at what she was growing more and more certain was the witch's home. She sighed, then shook her head.

"What'd you see this time?" Yang asked softly.

More than a dozen times, they'd tried to simply walk through the effect that kept blocking them, trapping them in one memory after another. After the first time, they'd taken turns, reasoning that if one of them was trapped for too long the other would be able to free them. After Yang had broken down crying from the memory of her eighth birthday, at the sight of her father so young and happy – and alive – they'd started sharing with each other, telling the stories of the memories they'd been forced to relive.

"It… It wasn't a memory," Weiss said, frowning deeply. "It was… We were older. In our thirties, I think. And… I think Yharnum was burning down."

"Huh," Yang said, frowning as well. "That's different." Weiss grunted, shook her head again, and returned to staring at the witch's abode. "Well, I guess that means it's my turn," Yang said with a sigh. She took a deep breath, then another, then moved to step forward, only for Weiss to grab her arm and stop her.

"No," Weiss said with a sigh of her own. "I think she's proven she doesn't want to speak to us. Let's just go, Yang."

Yang frowned again as she stared at the white-haired woman scowling down at the dirt. Despite the years they'd been friends, Yang had never seen Weiss so defeated, not even when she spoke of her father's and mother's divorce. "Are you sure, Weiss?" Yang asked softly, feeling a pang in her chest when she nodded. "Really? She's gotta be running out of things to show us by now."

"No, I don't think she is," Weiss mumbled, shutting her eyes tightly. "Please, let's just… let's just go."

After a long, tense moment, Yang simply said, "Okay."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Ruby sat with her hands steepled in front of her, covering her mouth and nose as she watched the news. To Neo, it almost looked like she was praying – though she wasn't quite sure what, if anything, her girlfriend would be praying to. 'The old gods?' Neo thought, her arm tightening around Ruby's shoulders as she saw the bird's-eye view of Isolde's home on the television again. 'No, I doubt Ruby cares about what Amaterasu or the like think of her. Maybe she'd pray to the elements, like Whitley's family seems to?'

Neo knew why her thoughts were straying in such a bizarre direction, but she pushed that particular thought aside, instead forcing herself to wonder who or what her girlfriend would worship. At the very least, it kept her from focusing on the cracked and bloodied street that the news network was showing them.

It wasn't until she heard the front door crack open that Neo moved, shifting only slightly to look over at Yang as the blonde stepped through it. She idly noted that Weiss wasn't with her, but quickly decided that information was unimportant and turned back to settle more closely to Ruby.

"Shit," Yang hissed quietly, piecing together everything nearly as soon as she saw them – and the display on the television in front of them. She hurried over to the couch they were sitting on and knelt next to it, feeling a pang of misery at the sight of her sister's blank eyes. "Ruby?" she asked softly, gently grasping Ruby's hands with one of her own.

Her only answer was a shake of her head, so slight and minute that Yang almost missed it.

"Neo?" Yang asked, just as softly as before, as she glanced at her sister's girlfriend. "What happened?"

"She killed her," Neo whispered, making Yang blink in surprise – she couldn't recall ever hearing her voice before. But then her words sank in, and a low whine escaped Yang's lips as she returned her gaze to her sister. The sound made Zwei, curled on Ruby's lap like a cat might, lift his head to stare at her for a moment, but then he laid it back down; although he, as a dog, lacked the intelligence to truly understand what he was doing, he knew that just being there for Ruby would help comfort her.

"Ruby," Yang mumbled, trailing off as she squeezed her sister's hands just a bit tighter – ever aware of her strength, even with the limits it had regarding Ruby specifically. She paused, wondering if she could think of anything that _might_ help her sister through this; ultimately, she did. "You know what she was, Ruby," Yang said gently. "You know the sort of person she was. You know what she did to him. Someone needed to do something, and… and with a Goliath, there's only one thing that can be done."

"Eight years, Yang," Ruby said, her voice so quiet that it was barely even a whisper. "Eight years, she's been… she's been raping her son. We went to school with him, Yang. Our Dad was helping Yharnum for nearly our entire lives," she said, making Yang flinch. "Why did we never see it before? Why couldn't… Why was this the only way?"

For a long moment, Yang was silent, unable to come up with a response of any sort, much less one that would satisfy her sister. Finally, she said, "You're right. It shouldn't have gone this far, but Dad was only one man, and Yharnum is bigger than either of us even know. Didn't you tell me not too long ago that you'd found someone with a power that Dad had never even _heard_ of, as far as we know?" Ruby gave a halfhearted nod, and Yang continued. "We don't know everything, Ruby. We'll never even come close. We just have to do the best we can with what we do know, okay? We won't be able to stop these sorts of things before they happen, but if we can just hear about them, we can try to stop it."

"That won't save her," Ruby mumbled.

"No, it won't," Yang said firmly, making Neo blink at her in surprise. "After eight years like that, I'm not sure anything would've been enough to save her, in this life or the next. But all we can do is try, Ruby. We won't always succeed, but we can damn sure try to make a difference. It's what Dad would've wanted." Ruby sighed, her head drooping until her forehead rested against the hand Yang still clasped around her own. "And, you know what he wouldn't have wanted?" Yang added, blurting out the words before she thought them through. "He wouldn't have wanted you to get like this, Ruby. He wouldn't have liked you killing someone, sure, but he would've wanted you to realize that you'd done what you needed to, too. The only way to stop a Goliath who's gone off the deep end is to kill them, Ruby, and even Dad knew it."

"Did he?" Ruby mumbled, lifting her head back up to stare at Yang. Though there was a flicker of anger burning in her silver eyes, her expression was still fatigued and full of grief. "He didn't kill Raven."

"He _couldn't_. How'd your fight go, Ruby? What worked, and what didn't?"

"Concussion grenade didn't," Neo murmured, making Ruby sigh. "Guns didn't. Fire didn't."

"The only thing that had any effect was a blade of air," Ruby mumbled, so quietly that Yang barely understood her.

"And Dad never learned how to make them," Yang said, nodding to herself as relief trickled through her.

"Because he never wanted to hurt anyone," Ruby said, meeting Yang's eyes again. The anger was gone from them, now; they held only pain. "And I _killed_ someone."

"Someone who had to die," Yang said, as firmly as she dared. "You told us what Cardin's mom had been doing to him, Ruby. You said it had been going on for years. What you did was… It was just what she would've gotten if she'd gone to court over it. Death penalty."

"I'm not gonna say it," Ruby mumbled, her mouth twitching.

Yang's smile was tinged with relief as she asked, "Judge, jury, and executioner?"

Ruby huffed something that wasn't _quite_ a laugh out through her nose and shook her head. "Are we stooping to clichés like that, now?" she asked, her own lips stretching minutely at the corners as she met her sister's eyes.

"Whatever it takes to cheer up my little sis," Yang said. She stood back up, let out the nervous giggle that had been bubbling in her throat for a while now, and turned toward the kitchen, adding, "Now, I'm going to make you the biggest sandwich I know how to make, Rubes. We've got leftover tri-tip from the other day still, right?"

"She ate it yesterday," Neo whispered, making Ruby blush and gently shove herself against her.

"Not all of it," Ruby mumbled, drawing another giggle from Yang and making Neo shake her head.

"Then I'll just have to make a whole bunch of different sandwiches. Should be _plenty_ to go around, even with your appetite, Rubes."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

And, there it is. You got to see the utter shitshow that was their first attempt at fighting a Twinborn Brute. Granted, the Mist I gave Isolde went a long way to making her more durable, but that's the thing: Raven is still even tougher than her.

Anyway, I don't really have anything left to talk about down here. I might decide to take a short break before I start writing again, but that's more of an issue with fatigue than lack of resolve. I'm committed to finishing these stories that I have on here.

Since I don't want to leave you with nothing, though, I feel like this will be a good point to explain something that I probably won't ever get a good opportunity to explain in the story itself: inheritance.

Abilities, powers, quirks, whatever you want to call them – they all have to be inherited. There is no method of obtaining a power other than inheriting it; not even a so-called witch's power can truly grant one. However, this has resulted in a few powers dying out. In this chapter, for example, you saw the finale of Isolde's Mist; she was the only living being to have that power, a patriarchal power, so it died with her.

But this does beg a question: if every power is either matriarchal or patriarchal, how come there are people with multiple powers that follow a single line? The easier answer would be that whatever event granted the first powers granted multiple to certain individuals, but that would be rather unsatisfying, wouldn't it?

The real answer is much more satisfying, I think. It's also grosser.

If two people sharing the same power mate, their powers follow the normal paths of inheritance: if the male's power is matriarchal and the female's is patriarchal, a child born of their union wouldn't have their power… unless the two are closely related.

If, in the example above, the man and woman were siblings, cousins, aunt/uncle and nephew/niece, or even parent and child, the product of their union would inherent every ability that the two shared. What's more, the inheritance of their child's power(s) would be determined by the child's sex: a son inheriting a typically matriarchal ability would see it pass to any children he had, for example.

As a result, Cardin Winchester is much like Qrow and Raven's father in this series: Twinborn. In their case, however, the incestual relations happened more than a dozen generations back, melding together the Steel Soul and bird-shapeshifting powers into a single patriarchal bloodline.

Just to clarify and summarize: due to his father being his mother's cousin, any of Cardin's children would be Twinborn with super-strength and super-toughness.

I think I've finished describing this, at least in the details I'm willing to share for the time being. Any further information would almost certainly be able to be shared via the story itself; most people don't know a whole lot about these sorts of abilities, making it easy for me to come up with an excuse to have one person tell it to someone else.

Until next time, folks.


	11. Chapter 11

Finally! Things are about to start kicking off for real! Yahoo!

This chapter – and the next three – will all contain at least fight scene (each) between powered individuals, nearly all of which will end in at least one fatality.

Good news: I like writing fight scenes, so you'll most likely see these chapters come out more quickly than usual! With any luck, I'll be done with this set of chapters before Volume 6 of RWBY comes out. Don't hold your breath, though: I might just decide to release one of these chapters on the day the first episode comes out, just to capitalize on the fans coming to this site to read more RWBY material.

Yes, I'm that kind of guy.

Anyway, let's get this shaking!

 **XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

It was over. Ruby sighed in relief and slumped down in her seat, her eyes drifting shut as her mounting exhaustion made her want to do nothing more than sleep.

But then she felt a warmth slip onto the chair with her. Ruby sighed softly and opened her eyes, tiredly returning her girlfriend's smile as she snuggled up to her. She wrapped an arm around the smaller woman, pulling her closer to her, and sighed again.

"Well, to everyone here: congratulations on surviving your week of finals!" Kali Belladonna said, raising a glass – of water – as she smiled warmly down at the high school students taking refuge in her living room. "Good job, everyone! I hope you enjoy the summer break!"

"Thanks, Auntie," Yang said sarcastically, grinning tiredly up at the Faunus as she playfully scowled down at her. She'd gone back to work the day before and was trying to get back onto what had become her normal sleeping schedule – and had a hard time sleeping after she'd read Mercury's letter.

"Oh, quiet, you," Kali said, unable to keep her scowl on for long; it turned back into a smile within seconds.

"Seriously, though, thanks for doing this," Ruby said, smiling when Kali looked over at her. "I don't think our place could've fit everyone this easily," she added, glancing over at Yang – and the myriad of people between them. Isabella Siverand – who always insisted she be called Izzy – rolled her eyes, seemingly uncomfortable with the genuine display of gratitude; Whitley laughed silently at the platinum blonde's discomfort, earning him a pair of knuckles in his side, courtesy of Weiss, sitting next to him. Penny muffled a giggle beneath her hand and scooted another inch to the side, giving the siblings the extra room on the couch they were all seated on.

"Yeah! Thanks, Kali!" Lilith Veon said brightly. Ruby still found herself startled by her classmate's appearance – mostly due to her hair, which had _not_ been bright red yesterday. It didn't suit the black leggings and silvery-grey blouse she wore as well as it had when it had been black – at least, not in Ruby's opinion – but it did go with her the amber of her eyes quite well. She grinned and nudged her cousin, Solon Uziel, whose grey beard drooped nearly halfway down his chest. "Right, Sol?"

"Y-yeah," Solon said, looking at her oddly. He'd kept his stutter the entire time Ruby had known him – nearly two years at this point – making her think it was a speech impediment rather than an issue with timidity. Unlike his cousin, Solon's hair and eyes were both grey, though they did share the same pale-tan skin tone that seemed common in their family.

"Thanks for having us," said Tera Grace. Unlike the rest of their classmates, Tera had transferred to Beacon in early November and had been met with a mix of curiosity and wariness that had quickly isolated her; remembering how Yang had welcomed Weiss with open arms when she'd been new to Beacon, Ruby had done the same for her. With brown hair, brown eyes, and well-tanned skin, she nearly blended into the couch she was sitting on, despite her height, the pair of feathery wings folded tightly against her back, and the arm Solon had wrapped around her shoulders – they'd bonded quickly, and started dating nearly as fast as Ruby and Neo had. "I know that we're rather… tangential to you, so I appreciate your hospitality. I hope this isn't any trouble."

"Oh, not at all!" Kali said, smiling warmly at the tall brunette. "I don't often get the chance to tease my goddaughter and her sister in front of so many of their friends, you know!" she added, laughing as she caught Ruby's sigh. "Now, does anyone want something to drink? Water, lemonade, soda? I've got plenty to go around."

As most of them hadn't been around Kali all that much, the requests she received were mostly half-mumbled and apologetic. With a bit of laughter and a few strategic winks, though, she had them returning her warm smiles before she left for the kitchen.

"That was quite possibly the most motherly person I've ever met," Tera noted, drawing a giggle from Ruby.

"Yeah, Kali's like that," Ruby said, trying not to let her fatigue show in her voice. Unfortunately for her, she yawned almost immediately, ruining her attempt. "She's been like that for as long as I can remember, really."

"Longer than that," Yang chimed in. "I asked Mom about her, once, and she told me that Kali's been like that for as long as _she's_ known her, and they've been besties since forever."

"Oh, come on, Yang," Kali said, returning with a tray bearing nearly a dozen cups and plastic bottles – despite not even two minutes having gone by. "We're not _that_ old."

"How the…?" Whitley mumbled, staring as Kali handed a mug of steaming-hot black coffee to his sister.

"I've learned not to question it," Weiss said, giggling as her baffled brother accepted the bottle of water she offered him.

"It's not that odd, Weiss," Kali said, rolling her eyes as she continued passing out drinks. "I knew you'd be here, I knew when, and I know what you like to drink, so it wasn't exactly hard to get some water boiling on time."

"Am I that predictable?" Weiss asked, drawing another warm smile from the Faunus.

"Most people are if you try hard enough," Kali said. Turning back to her self-appointed task, she handed Neo a glass of lemonade – and then a large bottle of root beer to Ruby, as well as the bottle of water she'd asked for. "I know it's not what you wanted, Ruby, but, well, it's not exactly hard to see how tired you are," Kali said apologetically, drawing a sigh from her goddaughter. "Try not to drink all of it at once, okay?"

"I know," Ruby mumbled, feeling her cheeks warm. She opened the bottle and took a long pull from it, then sighed again as she lowered it from her lips. "Thanks, Kali."

"You're welcome," she said brightly. "Now, I'm going to leave you kids alone for a while, okay? I'll be in my office if you need anything!" she added as she left, ducking into the kitchen briefly before heading upstairs.

"Her office?" Tera mumbled, blinking as she watched Kali leave. Her cheeks reddened after a moment, drawing a raised eyebrow from Yang; when she saw it, Tera's blush only deepened, and she subtly shook her head.

"You kn-know she'd show it to you i-if you asked, Tera," Solon said, drawing a faint squeak from her. "Y-You are basically her appren… apprentice, at this point."

"Oh, n-no!" Tera stammered out. "I c-can't do that!"

Penny sighed and let herself sink further into the couch she was sitting on, trying to ignore the couple's increasingly quiet conversation, and said, "So, Whitley, how d'you think you did on that Geology final? I know you were stressing out about it even more than me."

"I think I did okay," Whitley said. He let out a sigh, then smiled and added, "I'm just kind of glad it's all over, you know? At least until next year."

As more conversations continued to spring up, Ruby sighed again and let her eyes slide shut, not listening to any of them. Before she could fall asleep, though, Neo pinched her shoulder, making her blink and open her eyes slowly. "Hmm?" Ruby mumbled, blinking tiredly at her girlfriend.

"Are you okay?" Neo asked in a whisper, staring into Ruby's eyes curiously.

"Yeah. Just tired."

"I doubt finals tired you out this much," Neo said, assessing the bags beneath Ruby's eyes. "What's wrong?"

Ruby grunted, then drank a bit more of her soda. "My nightmares have been getting worse, recently," she said softly, trying to keep anyone else from hearing her. "You know how… Well, you know how time passes in a dream? The way ten minutes of dream-time can be an entire night of sleep? Mine aren't, anymore. They're… decompressed. Long."

"Anything I can do?" Neo asked, idly running a hand along the arm Ruby still had wrapped around her.

"Not unless you're willing to sleep next to me every night," Ruby said, half-jokingly. She didn't realize how it could be taken until she saw the sly smile stretching her girlfriend's lips. "Y-you know what I mean," she said, making Neo shake her head in her version of a giggle.

"Yeah, I know," Neo murmured. She kissed Ruby's cheek, then breathily whispered into her ear, saying, "But is that what you _wanted_ it to mean?" Ruby blushed and halfheartedly scowled at her, making Neo shake her head again.

"Please don't say things like that, Neo. You know what it does to me," Ruby mumbled, cheeks turning an even deeper shade of pink.

Neo couldn't stop herself from giggling for real this time. She kissed Ruby's cheek again, then said, "I know, but you know that I _like_ knowing you'll be… _thinking_ of me later."

"Hey, lovebirds," Yang said loudly, making Ruby and Neo realize she was standing behind their chair. Tera let out a startled squeak and flinched away from Solon, making him roll his eyes as she placed a nervous hand over her neck, where his lips had been moments ago. "Oops. Sorry, Tera," she added, chuckling and rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "Anyway: Ruby, Neo, I'm pretty sure you missed it, but we're thinking of booting up some Mario Kart. You in?"

Neo smiled and nodded, but adjusted herself so she was sitting on Ruby's lap, as if daring her to move. Ruby giggled and nodded as well, saying, "Sure thing, Yang. But, uh… I don't think I'm allowed to get up right now." Her cheeks warmed again when Neo kissed her neck, but she continued, asking, "Could you hand me my backpack? It's got my Switch in it."

"Sure thing, sis," Yang said around a chuckle.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Summer sighed, relieved, as she loaded the last briefcase into the trunk of her car. "Thanks again for doing this," she said, almost offhandedly.

It was enough to make Roman snort out a laugh. "Are you sure you want to be thanking me, Ms. Rose?" he asked, making her turn just barely enough to eye him. "You know what all this means, I'm sure. Buying illegal weapons from a drug lord, as a police detective? Of Vice, no less? It would be far too easy for an unscrupulous man to blackmail you with that information."

"Good thing there aren't any of those here," Summer said, slamming her trunk shut.

"Oh? You don't think I'm the dark lord of Yharnum's criminal underbelly?" he asked, more than a little amused.

"You forget who our kids are, Torchwick," Summer said. She turned around and hopped up, seating herself on the trunk of her car, and stared at him. "I don't think a 'dark lord' could've had anyone turn out the way Neo did."

Roman laughed again, leaning heavily on his cane. Both of them knew he didn't need it, but neither really cared about him keeping up the pretense in front of her. "I suppose you're right. Maybe if I'd taught her to lie, cheat, and steal I'd have an easier time keeping good cops from going dirty."

"That's not fair," Summer said, pouting; Roman would've smiled at the expression, if not for the way it made the dark bags beneath her eyes stand out. "You can't expect a jail cell to hold Raven any more than you could expect it to hold an earthquake, or a tornado. Even if we could get her there, somehow, she'd just be pissed off – and in the middle of the city."

"Hence your alternative solution, yes?" Roman asked, glancing pointedly at the trunk of her car – though it looked a bit different from her angle.

"I hope you're looking at my car's trunk and not mine," Summer said dryly, making Roman laugh again. "That'd be too tough to explain to our kids. Not to mention my husband, when I see him again in a few years."

The mood between them soured instantly, both feeling nearly overwhelmed by the sudden reality of their lives. "Are you sure you've got enough to take her on?" Roman asked.

"As much as I can be," Summer said, smiling grimly. "I'd feel better if I had a couple of nukes I could strap to my arms and punch her with, but I'll settle for what I've got."

"When are you going to try it?"

"Depends on whether or not I can get a decent night's sleep anytime soon."

"Hmm," Roman grunted, turning to look at the warehouse behind him – one belonging to his legitimate shipping company, which he used to launder the money he gained from his less legal business. "Roman's been complaining about the same thing."

"Huh. If I wasn't so tired, I'd wonder why that is," Summer said, letting out a sigh. As one of the warehouse's side doors opened, she smiled again and added, "Speak of the devil."

"Racism doesn't become you, Summer," Adam said, carrying a paint-stained duffle bag in one hand. "Just because I have horns, I'm the devil?"

"What, you've never heard that expression before? Besides, wasn't the devil a fallen angel?" Summer asked, her smile widening when he chuckled. As he handed the bag to her, she added, "Thanks, by the way."

"Glad to help, in any way I can," Adam said, smiling back at her. "You sure you don't want someone with you when you take her on?"

"No," Summer said, her smile fading. "Still, I think I have to. He was my husband, but he was hers, too; it's just kind of… poetic, right?"

"Not like any of the poems I've read," Roman chimed in, drawing another laugh from her. "Granted, most of the poems I've read were either vague descriptions of flowers or written by people who wanted to emulate Lovecraft's works, so maybe it is."

Summer stuffed the duffle bag into the back of her car, then got into it herself. "Thanks again!" she said, giving them one last smile before she drove off.

"I wonder…" Roman mumbled to himself, so quietly that Adam couldn't hear him. "What do these nightmares have in common?... Bah, too late to ask now."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Are you sure about that?" Emerald asked with a frown, arms folded over her chest. She was glaring down at Mercury, who lounged tiredly on the couch in their apartment's living room. "I find it hard to believe either of them would be running late, much less both at the same time."

"She said we were meeting here, Emerald," Mercury said, returned his gaze to the television in front of him. He'd been watching one of the local news channels when she'd walked in, worried, and was eager to get a little more information about how their recruitment of disposable soldiers was affecting Yharnum's community. "Just give them a few more minutes, okay? They'll be here."

Emerald let out a sound halfway between a groan and a growl, repositioning herself so she stood between him and the TV. "And what if they aren't?"

As if in defiance of her pessimism, the two heard a knock at their door. Emerald rushed off to answer it, frowning nervously, as Mercury sat up straighter with a sigh. He hefted himself to his feet as she opened the door, revealing both Cinder and Winston; she blinked, mouth opening in bewilderment at the sight of the usually dignified older man noisily chugging an energy drink.

"In case you were wondering why he was late," Cinder practically growled out, striding into the apartment; her shoulder brushed against Emerald's as she passed the younger woman, something she disregarded – but Emerald didn't.

'I guess it's working?' Emerald thought to herself as she warily followed her boss into the living room, Winston trailing not far behind them. 'I would've jumped to get out of her way before, right? Or am I just imagining that because I _want_ to be less clingy and more self-assured?'

Before she could delve too deeply into her thoughts, though, Emerald was jolted out them as Cinder asked, "Any progress?"

"Not all that much," Mercury said, gesturing toward the television, where a news anchor was currently going over what little information the news network had about a murder that had happened mere hours ago. "Most of the people we try talking into it aren't receptive enough to keep going with, some of them go off to commit petty crimes, and a couple wind up like this. We've only had a half dozen more people join up this week."

"Damn it," Cinder said with a sigh, folding her arms over her chest as she glared at the TV. "We might have to delay the plan if recruitment doesn't pick up. How many do we have in total?"

"Including those six, who've got pretty much no clue what's going on yet? Thirty-three," Mercury said, making her sigh again. "You want their names?"

"Their abilities."

"One's a hydrokinetic, two others are cryo's; they seem _real_ common, for some reason. One clairvoyant who's also got some sort of ghost-related ability, too, though she didn't want to talk about that too much; I think we should keep that one from Raven," he added, drawing a grunt from Cinder. "One of them calls herself a 'saint warden', whatever that means, and the last is a null."

"No powers?"

"Yep. He's weird into them, though. Keeps records of a whole bunch of powered people, goes around helping them, all that stuff."

"What?" Cinder asked, glancing down at him. "Why did he join us?"

"I've been looking into that," Mercury said, smirking cockily when Cinder nodded approvingly. "Turns out he's not too fond of the mayor, or the chief of police, for that matter. He went on for a while went I asked him about it, saying that a city of powered people should be run by powered people."

"He's aware of the hypocrisy?"

"I didn't ask. Didn't want to lose out on a recruit when we've got so few of them."

"Good work," Cinder said, nodding again. "How about stability?"

"The cops have had their hands full chasing around the people we tried and failed to recruit, so there's that," Emerald said. "I've also caused a few of them to get into car accidents, but it's not easy; keeping myself hidden while making them see an old lady or a runaway stroller can be tough, especially when I'm trying to make it happen in a busy intersection. Still, I've put four cops into the hospital this month, plus a couple dozen of the Candle's men – and six of _those_ are in the morgue."

Though she said it proudly, the words tasted sour on her tongue, enough to make her stomach churn. 'What?' she thought to herself, trying to keep her expression neutral. 'Oh, gods. I killed for her again. That's why it feels like this.'

"Hmm," Cinder said. She stared at Emerald for a moment longer, then shook her head and returned her gaze to the television. "Why is it like this here?" she asked herself softly, drumming her fingers against her folded arm.

"Commonality, most likely," Winston said. He let out a yawn as Cinder looked over at him, then added, "Many of the people in this city have suffered elsewhere, or been forced to hide what they are, before they came here. In Yharnum, they don't have to hide what they are – at least, not as extensively as before. The idea that merely talking to someone can help with a person's mental state is one of the defining theories behind modern psychiatry, and has been proven true frequently enough to have some weight to it. Here in Yharnum, we see that principle put to practice – and it succeeds more than it fails."

"Hmm," Cinder said again.

"That would explain that café that looks more like a Viking mead hall," Mercury chimed in.

"But it doesn't explain why the college's fraternities and sororities are in big towers overlooking the campus," Emerald added thoughtfully.

"Probably just trying to fit in with the rest of the buildings. 'Gothic chic' is in right now, apparently."

"Enough," Cinder said, sighing deeply. "Is there any good news at all?"

"Not unless you're willing to include Raven not being here as a good thing," Mercury said. "Speaking of missing allies, where's Velvet?"

"Good question," Cinder murmured darkly. "Have any of you heard from her this last week?" Silence reigned for a long moment before she said, "Mercury. Find her. Kill her."

"Sure thing, boss," Mercury said, keeping his tone neutral.

"Good," Cinder said, turning on her heel. "Winston. We're leaving."

"Why'd you even bring me here?" the well-dressed man mumbled as he staggered after her. "Hell, why come here at all?"

Once the door slammed shut behind them, Emerald let out a relieved sigh – only to growl when she saw Mercury had immediately decided to use the coffee table as a footrest. She bit back the words that leapt to her lips, though, and instead started thinking.

"You're going to kill for her again?" Emerald asked in a whisper, one that made Mercury look up at her with a raised eyebrow. She met his eyes for a moment before she added, "I thought we were trying to move away from that sort of thing."

"Ah, so it is working," Mercury said with a smile. "I've been wondering if that hypnotism crap was actually doing anything."

"Mercury, this is serious."

"I know." He paused, collecting his thoughts, then let out a sigh. "Think of everything we've done for them, Emerald, and then think of everything they've done to us."

"What?" she asked, frowning at him. "Why?"

"Because the things we've done for them are _wrong_ , Emerald," Mercury said plainly. "How many people have we killed, Emerald? How many of them were good people who'd gone against the Family, and how many of them just happened to be in the way of some bullshit political move the Family wanted to make? You want to know? The answer is 'too damn many,' that's what it is. And to make us this way?" he asked, pausing as Emerald paled. "They gave us to my father, and you know damn well everything he did to us."

"I…" Emerald began, her breaths quickening as her stomach roiled. "I didn't… I haven't been thinking back on any of that, Mercury. Oh, gods above, what have we done?"

"Now you know how I've felt the last three years," he muttered, watching her wrap her arms around her midsection. "At first, I was fatalistic. I thought that I'd have to kill myself if I wanted out, and that wasn't something I'd been willing to do. Then, when we got handed this assignment, I saw another way." He stood up and walked over to the window, staring out into the night. Into the city. "Yharnum is a safe haven for people like us, Emerald. We can make a life here. We can even wage our own war against the Family, once we're out."

"But, that's… They know who we are. They know where we live."

"Then we'll just have to hit them so hard that they never fuck with us again."

Nearly a minute went by before Emerald walked over to stand next to him. Placing her hand on his shoulder, meeting his eyes firmly, she asked, "Where do we start?"

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

" _Are you ready?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Then they move tonight."_

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Yang woke with a start – and then hit the floor of her room, which still shook as the quake rolled through it. She unsteadily rose to her knees, leaning against the bed she'd just fallen out of for support, only to flinch as a picture frame fell off her desk and shattered against the floor; her computer monitor did the same a moment later, mere seconds before the shaking slowed to a stop.

"Gods alive," Yang mumbled, eyes wide, once the world had stopped shaking. Car alarms blared in the streets, pets of all kinds – including Zwei, who'd been sleeping in his bed in the living room – barked and howled and screeched, and shouts and wails washed over her through the window she'd left cracked open. A horrendous scream of twisting metal and breaking glass made her jump again, and a glance out the window told her that a tree had fallen onto a car parked along the sidewalk less than twenty feet from her home.

She rose to her feet, adrenaline making her movements jerky and her limbs keep shaking – for a moment, she thought it was another tremor. Wary and worried, Yang left her room and went downstairs, flicking lights on as she went and feeling grateful that they still had power, for the moment, at least. Most of the pictures hung along the wall by the stairs had fallen, two of them shattering on impact, so Yang was glad she'd had the foresight to put on shoes before leaving her room.

"Zwei!" Yang called once she'd reached the first floor, hearing the corgi whimper and bark softly. The tags on his collar clinked together as he ran over to her, rearing up onto his hind legs and resting his paws against her thighs as she turned on the lights. She picked him up, mumbling soothing words to him as he trembled in her arms.

She brought him to the couch, set him down gently, and then sat next to him, letting him curl up next to her – it was an oddly cat-like mannerism for a dog, some distant part of Yang observed, but it suited him. She sighed as she stroked her fingers along the backs of his ears, comforted by the soft fur surrounding them as her touch did the same for him.

Yang flinched, startling Zwei and making him whine nervously, when the cell phone on the table in front of her started ringing – she hadn't even realized it was there. She picked it up – realizing it was her sister's – and read the name on the screen, then answered it.

"Auntie Kali?"

" _Oh, Yang! Thank the gods you're okay!"_ The utter relief she heard in her sister's godmother's voice made Yang smile. _"You_ are _okay, right?"_

"Yeah, I'm fine," Yang said, chuckling as some of the nervous tension in her body started leaving her. "Mostly just shaken – pun not intended. How about you? Ghira?"

" _Oh, we're okay, at least for the moment. We're most of the way home from the airport – Blake says hi, by the way – but it doesn't look like we'll be getting there any time soon. The road's broken; it's this… thi big crack that just opened up in front of us, at the intersection. We're lucky we got stuck behind a red light."_

"Wha… Really? Can you get home okay? You guys can stay with us tonight if you need to; I'm sure Mom would… Oh, shit!" Yang exclaimed, jumping to her feet – making Zwei bark at the sudden motion – and dashing for the stairs.

" _Yang? What's wrong?"_

"I didn't check on Mom and Ruby!"

Yang cursed under her breath, freaking out all over again as she ran to her sister's room and flung open the door – only to blink, panic washed away by confusion, at the sight before her.

"Ruby?" she asked, frowning, as she watched her sister zip up her boots. She was fully dressed, having evidently changed out of her pajamas for a blouse and skirt, despite the broken glass and various loose objects littering the floor of her room.

Ruby didn't answer her, instead rising to her feet and staggering towards the door, eyes glassy. To Yang, she almost looked drunk, and it took her tired mind a moment to realize she was sleepwalking.

" _Yang? What's going on?"_ Kali's voice came from the phone, reminding Yang that she was holding it. She stood in the doorway, blocking Ruby's path, as she brought it back up to her ear to answer it.

"Ruby's sleepwalking," Yang said, barely able to raise her voice above a whisper.

" _What? Why? Has she done it before?"_

"I… I don't think so," Yang said, biting her lip as her sister bumped into her and tried to push past her. "What… What do I do? She got dressed, but she's _sleepwalking_."

" _Don't wake her up, whatever you do."_

"What? Why not?"

" _I'm not exactly an expert on the subject, but waking up someone who's sleepwalking can do weird things to them. Look, we're on our way there. Can you ask Summer for help in the meantime?"_

"O-okay," Yang mumbled nervously, glancing out of the room and at her step-mother's. "Hey, Mom!" Yang called out before she realized that if the earthquake hadn't woken her, neither would her voice. "Mom!"

When the door to Summer's room opened, Yang felt relief wash through her – only for a chill to do the same when she saw that her step-mother was fully dressed and stumbling for the stairs, eyes glassy. Yang froze, mouth agape as she watched her start down the stairs, but then she raised the phone back up to her ear and said, "Kali, Mom's sleepwalking too. I can't… I can't stop both of them, not without hurting them." Her breathing was quick, her voice breaking. "What do I do?"

"We're on our way, honey. Just… Follow them, okay? Let them leave, but follow them. Stay on the phone, tell us where you're going. We'll meet up with you and do what we can."

"Okay," Yang mumbled, biting her lip again. She swallowed nervously, heart aching in her chest, as she stepped aside and let her sister pass, allowing her to stumble drunkenly into the hallway. "I… I have a bad feeling, Auntie. Could you, um… could you call Winter, or Weiss, and… Oh, gods, I need to text Neo. I'll call you back in a minute."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Yang's breaths came in trembling pants as she walked, following her sleepwalking sister and step-mother. She'd wrapped her jacket – a long one which covered up the fact she was still wearing her sleepwear – tightly around her shoulders, and her grip on Zwei's leash was so tight that her knuckles had turned white. As Summer and Ruby turned, their shuffle oddly fast despite how awkward it looked, Yang swallowed and raised her sister's phone to her ear again, saying, "East on Mallard Avenue."

" _East on Mallard,"_ she heard Blake say over the phone, though her voice was distant as she'd addressed her parents rather than Yang. _"Wait, isn't that… Beacon's that way, isn't it?"_

"Yeah. Yeah, it is," Yang said, swallowing again as she realized they were walking along the same route she'd driven nearly every day for two years. "You think they're heading to the school?"

" _Maybe. For now, we'll head there; the gym's an emergency shelter, so the police and fire departments might've cleared a path to it. It should be easier than trying to catch up to you like we've been doing."_

"Okay… Any word from Weiss? Adam?"

" _Weiss, yes. Winter called Mom back a few minutes ago and said that she, Weiss, and Whitley were all heading to Beacon's gym. We'll probably see them there."_

"And… And Adam?"

" _Nothing."_ Yang could hear the pain clearly in Blake's voice.

"Hey, maybe he just can't get a signal. Or maybe he forgot to charge his phone, or just doesn't have it with him, or something."

" _It's the 'or something' that I'm worried about, Yang."_

"I promise you, he's alive, somewhere. You think he'd survive an IED to the face, without _any_ scars, only for a little earthquake take him out? Give him a little credit."

Blake chuckled softly, then said, _"Thanks, Yang."_

Yang felt herself smiling, though it quickly faded when she realized she could see Beacon High in the distance. "Hey, uh, Blake? Could you get Kali to call Winter again?" Yang asked, swallowing at the sight before her. "I… I don't think the gym's being used right now."

" _What? Why not?"_

The ground had split open in more than a dozen places, some of the cracks large enough to swallow more than half of the public high school's campus and a wide swathe of the surrounding city-scape. Buildings, most of them more than one story and somehow still intact, rose up from the fissures in clumps in a few places, reminding Yang of a documentary she'd once seen about how people lived in the deserts of Sanus, most notably Vacuo. Despite the odd serenity of the surviving buildings lit by the light of the full moon, though, there was more than enough destruction to make her stomach churn – for every building that had survived the shifting earth, it seemed two had crumbled into ruin, collapsing onto cars, power lines, and even people, if the dark stains she spotted beneath one patch of rubble were any indication.

"The school's gone," Yang said – though she mumbled it so softly that she'd needed to say it again, louder, for Blake to hear her over the phone. "It's… It sank."

" _Shit. How are the roads?"_

"Terrible," Yang said, looking around at the cracked pavement and rubble-strewn asphalt. "I don't think you'll be able to drive here." Despite the heat of the summer night, Yang found herself shivering; she tugged her jacket on more snugly, then stooped to scratch Zwei behind his ears as he started whimpering. Yang only let herself stop momentarily, though, before she rose back up and started following Ruby and Summer again, trying to ignore the growing fear in the corgi's whines.

It was then that she saw him: wearing a suit, his hair and beard both a silvery grey in the moonlight, he shambled along the streets with the same gait as Yang's sister and step-mother. He was too far away for to make out much about him, though, but she recognized the description from the letter Mercury had given Daisy to give to her.

"We've got another problem," Yang said, her heart racing as she lifted her phone back to her ear. "Can you tell your Dad that I've got eyes on Winston?"

" _Um… Sure? Who's that?"_

"Just… Just tell him, okay?"

Yang heard a bit of rustling come through the phone's speakers, following by the faint sounds of Ghira swearing – loudly and profusely. After a moment, Blake said, _"Wow, okay. So, this guy's bad news?"_

"Very. He's a Soul Binder."

" _Not all of us know what that means, Yang."_

"It means that he can take a part of someone's soul and… and hurt them. Even kill them, from anywhere. I've heard rumors that a Soul Binder who takes a bit of a powered person's soul gains some of their abilities, too – and he's got part of Raven's."

For a long moment as she kept walking along the same, somehow intact path that Ruby and Summer were using, Yang could only hear her own heartbeat, drumming away in her chest. Finally, Blake said, _"Shit. What's the plan?"_

"I don't… I don't know," Yang mumbled, biting her lip again as she stared at the man, only to flinch when she felt her teeth punch through. She growled softly under her breath, frustration that she'd somehow managed to hurt herself momentarily eclipsing all other emotion – until she saw him. "Oh, shit. Are you fucking kidding me?" Yang mumbled softly, eyes tracking the man garbed in a black flak jacket and trousers.

" _Yang? What's happening?"_

"It's Adam," Yang murmured into the phone, taking stock of the redhead's horns and clearly mechanical eyes as he shambled up along one of the few intact sidewalks. "He's here, too. Sleepwalking."

" _What?!"_

"Look, if I…" Yang began, only to trail off when she looked to the other side and saw three more people she recognized. "Okay, now I'm just getting annoyed," Yang said, though she couldn't help but smile as relief washed through her. "The Schnee siblings are here, too, but they're awake. Probably," she added, slipping her arm through the loop on the end of Zwei's leash and waving at them.

One of the white-haired figures bolted to her the instant she saw her. Yang barely had time to make out that it was Weiss before she found herself ensconced in a tight hug. "Kali filled us in," Weiss mumbled, glancing nervously at the still moving Roses before she looked back at Yang, her eyes widening at the sight of blood streaming from the blonde's lip. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I guess," Yang mumbled back. She swallowed, then lifted her phone to her ear again and said, "Hey, Blake, I'm putting you on speaker."

A press of a button later, and Blake's voice came out loudly, though marred by static. _"Good to know, I guess. Anyway, if Adam's sleepwalking too, I think I might know why they're all sleepwalking."_

"Really?" Weiss asked, flinching as Whitley put a hand on her shoulder only to relax in his grip a second later. "What is it?"

" _A few years ago, I asked Adam what color his eyes were before he lost them, and he said silver. We know Ruby and Summer have silver eyes. Does Winston?"_

"Mercury's note said they were grey," Yang said.

"I'll go check," Winter offered, already jogging off and leaping over a foot-wide crack in the ground on her way to the smartly-dressed man.

"That seems really flimsy," Whitley said, his voice flat despite the obvious fear in his eyes.

" _You know what kind of city Yharnum is, right?"_ Blake asked, genuinely uncertain – she'd only met Whitley a handful of times before. _"I'll admit this'd be a new thing, but it's not impossible. Anyway, if all the sleepwalkers are converging, that means the thing they're sleepwalking towards is probably really close. Stick with them, okay?"_

"I don't really need you to – Ruby!" Yang suddenly exclaimed, lunging forward and grabbing her sister's arm less than a second before she would have toppled over the edge of a broad split in the ground. Yang's eyes widened and her lips parted as she saw what almost looked like a staircase leading down into the darkness beneath the school's grounds. As she watched with her mouth hanging open, Summer, Adam, and Winston started to descend it in single file and without shambling as much as before – their steps were sure and their postures straight.

"Okay, that's just eerie," Winter said, watching closely as she rejoined Yang and her family.

"What? What happened?" Blake asked, reminding Yang that she was still on the phone with her. After hearing the blonde's explanation, Blake asked, "What the fuck is happening?"

Yang, after forcing herself to release Ruby's arm and let her sleepwalk down the staircase with the rest of them, turned to Winter and asked, "Can you stay up here and wait for Ghira and the rest? And, uh, maybe keep an eye on Zwei, too?" she added, glancing down at the obviously terrified corgi whose leash she still held. "I don't want to leave my Mom and sister," Yang added pleadingly when Winter grimaced and looked back down the pit.

After a moment, Winter sighed. "Alright. You owe me for this, though."

"I'll take that deal," Yang said, a small smile momentarily settling on her lips as relief pulsed through her.

"I'll stay too," Whitley added, staring uneasily into the crack.

As Yang handed off Zwei's leash to Winter, she saw another figure approaching – running, though it was a slow, tired run. As it drew closer, Yang realized that it was a short woman, and then she sighed softly as she recognized the mixed brown and pink of her hair. "Neo," Yang greeted her, doing her best to give her sister's girlfriend a smile.

Neo was breathing hard and slick with sweat, having run most of the way there. Mouth dry, she glanced at Yang, then over at Ruby – descending down into the darkness that dwelled beneath what remained of the school – before returning her multi-colored gaze to Yang. To her, the question was obvious.

"I don't know," Yang mumbled, shaking her head as she started to follow her sister. "That's what we're here to find out."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Neo counted her steps as she descended the staircase, having little else to do on the way down into the stone cavern beneath Beacon. By the time they reached the bottom, Neo's count had eclipsed one thousand – twice, as she'd lost count once and decided to start over on the step she'd been on at the time.

On the way down, the three conscious young women had noticed that the cavern's walls had looked increasingly less like worked stone – and the cube-shaped holes in the walls surrounding the foot of the staircase only seemed to confirm Weiss's theory that it was manmade. The light cast by her ability's conjurations cast shadows around the walls, ones that were soon pierced by Neo's and Yang's flashlights.

As Weiss spoke, her concentration on her lights wavered, making the shadows they cast flicker. "So," she began, flinching at the way her voice echoed against the stone walls. "So, we're here to… do what, exactly?"

"Keep them safe through whatever the hell this is," Yang said, carefully controlling her breathing to keep herself from crushing Ruby's phone, which she'd started using it as a flashlight a few hundred steps ago at Weiss's urging; considering she wasn't getting a signal this far underground and it was nearly fully charged, she didn't see much reason not to. "And then haul their asses back up if we have to."

"Even though there's four of them and only three of us?" Weiss asked. As the sleepwalkers continued into a broad tunnel that led east – as far as she could tell – Weiss threw a blob of light above it and made it curve into the tunnel's mouth – a sign for everyone who came after them. "I know Blake's coming soon, but that seems like poor math."

"We can leave Winston behind," Yang said, growling under her breath. "He's with the Family that brought Raven to Yharnum."

Before silence had a chance to grow between them, Neo murmured, "We're here."

Facing ahead once more, both Yang and Weiss were startled by the sight before them. Thousands of feet beneath the high school, a raised stone platform littered with brown-tinted grass and white flowers rested on a platform above them, one which Ruby and the rest quickly ascended to.

"Wow," Yang mumbled, breathing in the sweet, alien scents of the flowers as they continued following the sleepwalkers. "I didn't expect anything so… pretty."

"Wait," Weiss said, tilting her head and sniffing at the air. Frowning, she said, "I think I smell something. Something other than the flowers, I mean."

"Me too," Neo said softly, ever careful of her voice's limits.

"Damn it," Weiss grumbled as they continued onward and the scent grew stronger. "What's that smell? I know I recognize… it," she finished flatly, eyes widening as she saw the sleepwalkers come to a halt in a small chamber just beyond the flowery platform. Dirt and dust ground beneath her companions' feet as they, too, stopped, staring at the stone altar set beneath a bronze statue of a woman, eyes masked with a white cloth and body garbed in red – though a closer examination would reveal that it, too, had been white.

Set into the stone at the altar's feet was a trough, and within that was blood. Gallons upon gallons of it.

"Frost and fire alive," Weiss mumbled as Yang gagged and took a few steps back, overwhelmed by the reeking stench. Though the floor beneath them was so dusty that no one could've possibly stepped into the chamber before them, the blood seemed fresh and lacked any evidence of rot. "Why in ashen winds…?"

Her words were cut off by her own panicked yell as she watched the sleepwalkers approach it, swipe their fingers through it, and – in perfect unison – anoint themselves with the blood, streaking it across their eyes and letting it drip into their mouths, which hung open to catch it.

For a long moment, everyone stood there frozen.

Then Adam started screaming.

The pain was clear in his voice as he shouted wordlessly, falling to his knees and tearing at the skin around his cybernetic eyes. Flesh roiled around them like worms, stretching across the foreign metal – and, in some places, piercing through it.

The sound broke Ruby, Summer, and Winston out of their trances, and they stumbled around, confused. Summer reacted first, her years of training and decades of service as a police detective allowing her to quickly put aside her confusion and understand the crisis before her.

"What's going on?!" she demanded, falling to her knees beside the former soldier and grasping his wrists in an attempt to take his hands away from his face – and, in the process, got a good look into his eyes. "Dear gods above," she murmured, eyes wide, only to shake her head and set her jaw as he screamed again. "Neo! I need you!"

Neo blinked, but hurried to her side, dropping to her knees and tapping Summer's shoulder to let her know she was ready to help.

"I need you to take out his implants," Summer said, gritting her teeth as she fought against Adam's attempts to tear them out on his own. "I know you're a ferrokinetic – or whatever the hell it's called – so just be ready to do it on my mark, okay?"

Neo's eyes widened as she paled, stomach churning, only to flinch when she felt a hand on her own shoulder. "You can do this," Ruby whispered to her, making Neo swallow.

As Neo nodded and took a deep breath, facing Adam again, neither of them noticed the blood still on Ruby's hand soaking through Neo's shirt and into her shoulder.

"Ready? Now!" Summer shouted as she fought even harder to take Adam's hands away from his face. At that instant, Neo flexed her fingers towards him and gripped the metal in his eyes with her power; with a brief bout of effort, she tore them from his head – and her eyes widened with horror as she saw the wires and flesh that came out of him.

Adam screamed one last time, then collapsed into Summer's arms. He lay there, panting, for a minute that felt like ten. "Thanks," he mumbled, lifting his head up to face Neo. She gasped, hands flying to cover her mouth, and he blinked – only to realize he could see her.

His own hand went up to his face, and he gently felt at his eyes – his _eyes_ , he realized as he touched them. "What the hell? Am I dreaming?" he mumbled, shaking his head slowly in confusion – only to nearly pass out as pain shot through his head again.

"No," a familiar voice said to him, making him raise his head despite the pain it caused him. "You're awake," Blake said, dropping to her knees and hugging him tightly. "You're okay," she murmured, closing eyes wet with tears as she tightened her grip even further.

"Blake?" Adam mumbled back, tentatively returning the hug. Lost in the moment, neither noticed the blood sliding off Adam's hand, leaving it clean and dry as it sank through Blake's jacket and shirt and into her back. "You're really here?"

"My plane landed a couple hours ago, now," she said, pulling back only far enough to let herself see his eyes. "The quake hit only a little bit after we debarked."

"Quake?" Ruby asked. "What happened? And, uh, where are we, exactly?"

"A tomb," Winston said, adjusting his suitcoat and distastefully brushing dirt and dust from his pants. "Fitting. It saves me the trouble of digging graves for all of you."

"Really? Now?" Yang asked dryly, cracking her knuckles as she stared him down – making him blink in momentary confusion.

"Oh, dear. It seems my side has a mole, doesn't it?" he asked, making one last adjustment to his tie before he let his hands rest at his sides. "I suppose I'll have to torture the information out of you, won't I?"

Before he could move an inch, a roaring tempest of sound jolted through the cavern, making everyone flinch as a bullet collided with the side of Winston's head.

And bounced off.

Grumbling under his breath, the well-dressed man turned to regard Ghira Belladonna, who kept his service pistol trained on his head. "That one was a warning," Ghira said, an edge of humor in his tone – he found it funny that shooting a man in the head could be considered a "warning shot". "Stand down, submit yourself to police custody, and you'll get to live."

"That doesn't sound much like my Miranda Rights, now, does it?" Winston asked, dabbing a finger against the slight cut Ghira's shot had opened on his temple. "How can anyone trust a police force so willing to take the law into their own hands?"

"Welcome to Yharnum," Yang said, stepping forward – only to feel a hand grasp her shoulder.

"Now, now, Yang," Summer said, smiling pleasantly as she met her step-daughter's eyes – neither noticing the blood leaving Summer's fingers and being absorbed by Yang's shoulder. "I wanted to say that," she said, the utmost seriousness in her voice.

"Can someone just tell me what's going on?" Ruby asked, glancing around at everyone gathered around them – though she didn't let Winston leave her sight, either.

"There was an earthquake, you silver-eyed folks were sleepwalking, and now we're under Beacon," Weiss explained in a hurry, nervous tension making her voice shake. "There's also a trough of blood behind you."

"What?"

"Can we postpone this until later?" Summer asked, glancing back at her daughter to smile comfortingly at her. "One of the Family's lackeys is right here in front of us, and we won't get a better opportunity to deal with him."

"I agree," Yang said, rolling her shoulders and shaking off Summer's grip. Without another word, she lunged towards Winston.

He dodged to the side with an alarming alacrity, avoiding her punch and causing it to collide with the rock wall behind him. A hefty crunch was all that preceded several hundred pounds of stone shattering into loose chunks and raining down into the chamber with them, producing a tremor that made Weiss's heart race as – for a moment – she feared that another earthquake had shaken the city. Yang growled and stepped away from the rubble shaken loose from the wall, trying to ignore the blood dripping down her knuckles as she returned her gaze to Winston.

"Amazing," Winston murmured, letting a smile cross his lips. "Only a tenth of her attributes, and still–"

Before he could complete his sentence, a tumultuous gust of wind crashed into him and flung him back out through the hallway, causing his breath to leave him in a pained gasp as he crashed to the floor and rolled to a stop mere inches from the edge of the raised platform. Ruby – having cast the gust his way – followed him out at a run, eyes hard and jaw set.

"You talk too much," Adam croaked out, voice pained, as he moved to stand beside her. Winston got his arms beneath him and hauled himself back to his feet, only for a hard press of compacted air to slam him back down to the ground hard enough to crack the stone beneath him. "You basically just explained how your powers work, idiot."

"Only a _tenth_?" Blake mumbled to herself, watching from the relative safety of the altar room as more of their friends and allies walked out of it. "He shrugged off that bullet like it was nothing. It barely drew blood! That's a _tenth_ of Raven's strength?"

"That's what it looks like," Ghira grumbled as he stood by his daughter's side. "Sadly, that means we're not worth the air we're breathing in this fight. Be ready to head up the stairs if you get the chance, Blake – I'll cover you."

Before Blake could object, her eyes widened as she saw a figure in shining white armor stride toward Winston – who'd fought off Ruby's and Yang's attempts to keep him grounded – and struck him in the chin hard enough to knock him back a step. "Weiss?" Blake muttered.

Through the narrow slit of her helmet, Weiss watched Winston laugh off her punch and throw one in return, which she ducked beneath. Grabbing his arm before he could pull it back, she thrust her knee up into his groin; as he gasped in pain, she threw him off the platform's side – where a combined gale from both Ruby and Yang slammed into him and thrust him into the wall hard enough to shatter it around him.

"That's a good look on you," Yang told Weiss with a grin, making her blush beneath her conjured armor.

"Shut up," Weiss mumbled, though she stood up straighter at the compliment. Though rather unoriginal, the armor of a stereotypical knight was quite functional – from her helm to her greaves, from pauldrons to gauntlets, nearly every inch of her skin and clothing was covered in the gleaming white light of her ability. Weightless, but harder than steel and with the tensile strength of rubber, it was one of the few ways she'd come up with to keep up with Ruby and Izzy on the few occasions she'd sparred with them.

As Winston pried himself free from the wall, Weiss jumped down after him and slammed her heel into his shoulder hard enough to break a normal person's bones – though all it did to him was knock him to the ground with a grunt. She landed gracefully, using the hard-light surrounding her to slow her fall just before she hit the ground herself, then attempted to stomp on Winston's back, only for him to roll to the side and kick her leg out from under her. She used her ability to keep herself from falling, but it cost her a second to regain her balance – long enough for Winston to fling himself back onto his feet and place his hands on either side of her head.

Before he could snap her neck, Summer landed on him knee-first, knocking his hands off of her and sending all three of them to the ground. She and Winston rose quickly compared to Weiss, who was still rising to her knees by the time the two of them were eyeing each other warily.

"Really, Detective? A knife?" Winston asked, amused, as he glanced at the ten-inch-long weapon Summer held. "That won't hurt a Steel Soul."

"Lucky me, then," Summer said dryly, lunging toward him fast enough that her arm blurred. He reacted nearly as quickly, but not quickly enough – blood dripped from a thin line she'd slashed open in his arm, a few drops escaping his sleeve as he danced away. "Diamond-dust edging," she said, smirking at the bafflement in her opponent's face. "I was wondering if it would work on a Steel Soul. Guess I'll just have to keep wondering, huh?"

Winston's neck turned red and a vein pulsed in his forehead as he dodged away from her next strike, backing up further and further as she kept attacking him until his back found a wall – one which he'd been certain was further away. As he ducked beneath her next swing and tried to counterattack with a palm strike, he glanced behind him and growled at the sight of the shimmering wall of light that he'd backed into. Summer dodged his ill-aimed counter easily enough and nicked his palm as she put a few feet between them, a lazy smirk stretching her lips as she flicked her blade to the side, flinging a few drops of his blood from it.

He sighed, then lifted his hand – and, to Summer's shock, a jet of condensed water sprang from it, blasting into her chest hard enough to knock her off her feet and send her nearly a dozen feet through the air before she hit the ground again. "I haven't had much practice with hydrokinesis," he said, almost apologetically, as he flexed his hand, "so I hope you won't take too much offense by my not killing you with that."

Summer tried to chuckle as she hauled herself back onto her feet, though it came out as a ragged cough. "Good luck with that," she said, her voice rough and pained.

He opened his mouth to speak, only to gasp in pain as something sharp tore through his nose, punching a millimeter-wide hole through its bridge and shedding an awful lot of blood. He glanced up, then ducked to the side, narrowly avoiding the next blade of wind Ruby sent his way.

"Damn it!" Ruby muttered as Winston rolled beneath the platform she still stood on. She leaped from the stone beneath her and took flight, pressing herself as close to a wall as she dared as she tried to get him back in her sight.

Winston, chuckling, ducked behind one of the many pillars beneath the platform, only to blink as he came face to face with Neo. "I suppose that will work," Winston mumbled after a moment, smirking as he approached the slight woman – only for her to draw a slender pistol from beneath her jacket and shoot him.

He froze, shocked, as warmth slowly appeared and ran down his chest. Glancing down at his suitcoat, he blinked at the sight of blood soaking through it. "What the devil?" Winston mumbled, looking back at Neo only to find her looming over him, gun held to his forehead – without realizing it, he'd lost the ability to stand.

Another crack lanced through the air as the ferromancer shot him right through the eye, her ability granting the bullet enough force and precision sharpness to pierce his stolen Steel Soul. His mouth opened again, almost questioningly, as he collapsed onto his back, his last moment alive spent wondering how she'd managed to kill him.

It took a moment for her to realize precisely what she'd done.

"Neo!" Ruby yelled, dropping to the ground and jogging to her. She wrapped her in a tight hug before she could fall to her knees, tears welling up in her multi-colored eyes. "It's okay, Neo. You're okay," Ruby mumbled into her girlfriend's ear.

"Oh, gods," Neo mumbled, her voice croaking. "I… I killed him. I killed him!" she repeated, voice growing louder. "Oh, gods, Ruby, I killed him!"

"Hey – hey, I'm right here," Ruby said, kissing her forehead. If Neo had been in a better state of mind, if she hadn't been in shock, she would've seen the abject terror in her girlfriend's eyes as she realized just how easily she could die from the glass in her neck shifting. "I'm with you. You only did what you had to, Neo. What the rest of us would have done if we'd had the chance."

"Oh, gods," Neo repeated in a mumble.

"I tried to do it, too, you know," Ruby said. "I tried to kill him. All you did was beat me to it. He wouldn't have lived long enough to see the morning no matter what. Okay? Just breathe, Neo, please."

It took another two minutes of Ruby murmuring into her ear before Neo quieted, breathing deeply. She swallowed, lifting her head from Ruby's shoulder – which she'd been heartily sobbing into – and swallowed, only to pause mid-gulp, eyes widening.

"Ruby?" Neo mumbled, swallowing again as she lifted a hand to her throat and felt at it. Ruby blinked and grabbed her wrist, which only made Neo seem more frantic. "Wait! I'm not… I can't feel it any more!" she exclaimed, making Ruby freeze.

"What? You… You can't feel it?" she asked, tentatively letting go of her and watching with wide eyes as Neo carefully poked and prodded at her own neck.

"It… It's gone?" Neo mumbled, more to herself than to Ruby. "What… How?"

"How could it be gone?" Ruby asked, taking Neo's hand again.

"It… Is it the blood?" Neo asked quietly, squeezing Ruby's hand. "It… It grew Adam's eyes back. Maybe it… Maybe it somehow… fixed me?" she wondered, cheeks tinting when she realized she couldn't even say aloud what she was really thinking.

"We don't know for sure it's gone, Neo," Ruby murmured softly, darkly, making her girlfriend's shoulders slump. "You should see a doctor, just to be sure, before we start thinking about this as a miracle."

"I know. I know, but… I know," Neo said, sighing softly.

"Winter's up topside, apparently," Summer said, startling both young women. She was leaning against one of the pillars that held up the platform above them, a small smile on her lips. "She could check you out before we all head home."

"Mom," Ruby said, hand over her chest as she sighed. "Don't scare me like that."

Summer's smile widened for a brief second before it drooped again. "Sorry, honey. Habit. Anyway, we should get out from down here before too much longer. We're about a third of a mile beneath Beacon right now, if Yang's estimate was correct, and the only reason we got down this far was because of an earthquake that destroyed a lot of Yharnum."

"What?" Ruby asked, straightening. She glanced at Neo, who nodded solemnly, before she added, "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"I came as soon I heard it myself," Summer said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well, then, let's go!"

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

The days that followed were frantic. People rushed to check on their loved ones, only to be stymied by cracked open roads and collapsed buildings. The two surviving hospitals were filled with the injured and displaced, with doctors, nurses, and volunteers alike trying to soothe both their wounds and their worries. More than a few office buildings near the hospitals had been repurposed as emergency housing, despite the complaints of some of their tenants – one realtor in particular had put up quite the fuss about her office being filled with sleeping bags and futons, but had been found dead the next day, her corpse in a department store that had been looted the night before.

The police and fire departments, as well as more than a thousand civilian volunteers, worked to keep the peace in what was left of their city, though they were scarcely needed – despite the widespread devastation, less than two dozen buildings wound up being looted through by roving mobs. Food, clean water, and even clothing was donated from all over the kingdom in the wake of the disaster and distributed near the hospitals, though far enough away that the crowds they drew didn't obstruct any emergency services.

Luckily, most of the city still had power and running water – though few were willing to drink it unfiltered – and the people of Yharnum had always had a camaraderie that was far more common among the denizens of smaller towns. Those who'd lost their homes to the earthquake had found that their friends were willing to lend them a room until things were settled; others found that there was a donation fund going towards those who couldn't afford the medical care they needed.

And still others found that they belonged far more than they'd assumed.

"I can't thank you enough for this," Winter said. She and her siblings had been taken in by Summer after she'd learned their apartment had been among the fallen buildings; at the time it broke apart, Winter had been at work, while Weiss and Whitley had gone to the movies to celebrate his finishing another year of high school.

"Oh, stop it," Summer said, smiling even as she rolled her eyes. "You've said that, like, three times a day for the last week, Winter. It's starting to get old."

"It bears repetition," Winter said, feeling her cheeks warm as she looked down at the mug of tea she held. She took a slow sip, sighed as she set it back down, and added, "Though I imagine you've been hearing it from others, as well."

"Yes, well, most people don't realize what their taxes are going to until there's a disaster and the police know what they're doing," Summer said, blushing herself as she realized what she'd said. "Sorry. Just… I recognized a few of the people Carlos and I brought to the hospital today. Some of them were gangsters who'd spit on police cruisers when they passed, and… Let's just say it was an odd experience," she finished with a shake of her head.

"I wonder if I had to patch up any of them earlier," Winter mused aloud, drawing a laugh from Summer.

"I'm still surprised you're a good doctor, you know," Summer said, drawing a raised eyebrow from the woman across from her. "I know, I know. Ruby and Yang told me how Weiss's school requires a thorough education in that stuff and gets you a degree and a license to practice, and how you went there yourself, but still! It's odd to see, especially after you got yourself on the night shift. How've you been, by the way? Working during the day?"

Winter smiled, making Summer blush again as she realized just how readily she'd drifted off topic. "It was difficult the first day, but I have an easier time adjusting my sleeping patterns than most. That, and Kali generously bringing me coffee twice a day," she said, letting out a chuckle as Summer laughed.

"Yeah, she's a treat," Summer said. She took a sip of her own tea, then swirled it around as she asked, "So, speaking of the Belladonnas… You had time to go over Blake's blood sample today, right?"

"Yes, I did," Winter said, frowning. "Before I say anything more, I would just like to reiterate that Lupus is a truly bizarre disease – more of a disorder, really – that does not have any easily identifiable markers. It is presumed to be a genetic condition that becomes active when exposed to some unknown environmental trigger, and carries such diverse symptoms that it can be easily mistaken for another disease. What's more, given her allergies to most common treatments, Blake's case was already rather unusual."

"I understand. What, in your professional opinion, is the verdict?"

"Well, she has not exhibited a malar rash this week, though she confided that those were infrequent in the past. Her platelet and white blood cell counts seemed typical for someone without Lupus, though my education taught the theory that a reduction in those is a side effect of pharmacological treatment, which Blake has not benefited from. She's also reported less joint pain and fatigue this week than normal for her, though it's possible that she's either just convincing herself she's cured and having a psychosomatic response to it, or that she's just having a good week. And it's also theoretically possible that the remainder of the substance didn't transfer to Blake – as it did from you to Yang or from Ruby to Neo – and instead went to repairing his eyes further," Winter said, taking another drink of tea as she finished her explanation.

"So, there's no telling if she's actually cured or not?" Summer asked, disappointed.

"Not for autoimmune diseases. Only long-term observation can adequately determine that."

"And for, uh, my sample?"

"Unfortunately, I'm not familiar enough with how your ability works on a cellular level to determine whether or not it has changed since your exposure to the substance. As far as I can tell, your cells seem to be about average for a woman your age, though, again, I don't know for sure if that's any different than it was before. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

"Have you told anyone? Other than me, I mean?"

"What? That I'm wondering if the same random trough of blood that gave a man back his eyes and removed a shard of glass from a young woman's neck corrected my ability's deficiencies?" Summer asked dryly, prompting an awkward shrug from Winter. She sighed, then said, "Yes, I told Ghira and Kali. I told them that it was just a theory I had, and asked them if we should tell the kids – which they shot down, for reasons I agree with. Though I'm pretty sure Ruby suspects something, considering we haven't been feeling as hungry these last few days."

"Speaking of the kids," Winter said, fighting back a smile as she glanced out the kitchen window and into the backyard, "how've they been handling everything?"

"You mean the disaster, or, well, everything else?" Summer asked, again dryly. She sighed again, shaking her head as she said, "Sorry. It's just… It's been a hard couple of weeks. I know your week has been just as bad, but, well… Sorry."

"Apology accepted. And I was referring to everything all together, not just the earthquake."

"Well… Ruby's been happy, at least," Summer said, letting herself smile as she looked out the window as well. "She's been worrying about everyone's safety for a while now, so I think she's just relieved she can finally teach Neo and Yang how to defend themselves. You know, without any accidents happening. Other than that, though, I think we've all been a bit too busy to actually catch up on anything."

"Well, not to change the topic too much, but… about Yang," Winter said pointedly, drawing a laugh from Summer. "Weiss has been thinking about trying to court her again, now that she can control her strength subconsciously, but… I don't think Weiss or Whitley will be spending much time in Yharnum in the future. At least, not for a few years. My father is quite the control freak, and after this…"

"I know," Summer said, sighing again. "The gods know that if Ruby and Yang were in another country and this shit happened where they were staying, I'd do everything I could to get them home safe. But…" She sighed again. "Yang's still getting used to it. To the idea of it. If you want my opinion as someone who's seen a few people jump into relationships when they're still trying to get themselves together, I'd tell Weiss to wait a month or two before she asks her out."

"And your opinion as her mother?" Winter asked.

"I try to keep those opinions tamped down," Summer admitted, blushing again. "I can get kind of possessive, but I know it and try to keep a handle on it. All I can say on that front is that Weiss better not hurt my daughter if they get together."

Winter laughed, prompting a self-conscious chuckle from Summer. "I'll be sure to tell her," she said, causing the police detective's blush to deepen. Winter sighed, staring out the window again as she said, "Still, that substance… blood…"

"You can't stop thinking about it, can you?" Summer asked, smiling as Winter chuckled.

"No, I don't believe I can. It poses too many questions. Even disregarding the obvious ones, I can't determine why it was able to remove the glass from Neo's neck without a trace but was unable to remove Adam's cybernetic eyes while regenerating his old ones," Winter mused. She sighed, settling further into her seat, as she continued. "What is it, really? How did it get there, and how long has it been there? Could such a miraculous substance truly exist, or am I merely experiencing some in-depth hallucination, likely as a result of being rendered comatose in the earthquake?"

"And what will we do when the finite source of our miracle-working blood runs out?" Summer added.

"I don't imagine we'll be able to advertise it in any real capacity. At least, not any more so than Yharnum is advertised as a safe community for those with extranormal abilities and supernatural powers."

"Fair enough. It feels bad that we can't share it with everyone, but there's not much we can do about that."

Before either of them could discuss it any further, a knock sounded at the front door.

"Hello, Summer," Adam said as she answered it, shifting somewhat uncomfortably as she smiled at him. "May I come in?"

"Is there any real need to?" Summer asked, glancing down at the small metal briefcase he held. "Or are you not here to tell me where Raven's been hiding out this last month?"

"I am, but… There's more to it than that. Are Ruby and Yang here, too?" he asked as Summer took a step to the side, allowing him into her home.

"Yes, but they're out back. Why? Is that for them?" Summer asked, her disapproval clear in her tone.

"Yes and no, Summer. You'll see in a bit, I imagine."

She sighed, but led him to the backyard. Within the confines of the eight-foot-high wooden fence, a small garden full of readily blooming flowers rested, evidently well cared for – though the wood blocks hemming it in had a few finger-sized dents in it, evidence of who its caretaker was. On the other side, rather than the unused sandbox or swing set that Adam had expected from a suburban family, he found a set of yoga mats and a free-standing punching bag strewn about over otherwise unobstructed grass – and, on them, Ruby led Neo through a set of exercises.

"Just two more, Neo," Ruby said gently, encouragingly, as her girlfriend huffed and tried to do another push-up. "Come on, you can do it. That's it, Neo. Just one more. You can do one more, right? There's always just enough left to do just one more, right?"

Neo groaned, but finished her set before folding her knees beneath her and straightening, head tilted to the sky and sweat pouring down her face as she panted. "Why… can't I… do… girl push-ups?" the former mute asked between gasps for breath.

"Because they don't build strength the right way," Ruby said, using her thumb to wipe some of the sweat from Neo's cheek before she kissed her, "and they make you think you're stronger than you are because they don't make you lift your whole weight. Take a few minutes to rest, okay?" she asked, kissing her again. "Yang? Could you get us some water?" she asked sweetly, making her sister – who'd been practicing her punches on the free-standing bag – chuckle.

"Sure th-… Oh, hi Mom," Yang said, blinking as she finally noticed her step-mother. "Adam. Oh, is that…?" she trailed off, tensing, as she noticed the briefcase Adam held.

"Yep," Adam said, setting the briefcase down at her feet. "Took a while to get everything together, but it's ready now. Just in time, too."

"Thank the gods for that," Yang mumbled, giving Summer a weak, fearful smile.

"Does anyone want to tell me what's going on?" Summer asked, glancing warily between her daughters and Adam.

"Well, Adam told us about what you asked him to do, to tell you when he found Raven," Ruby began. As she spoke, Yang started undoing the clasps on the briefcase and opening it. "We know we can't change your mind. We know we can't convince you to let us come with you, and we know you'd somehow manage to leave us behind if you knew where you were going and we didn't. So, Yang and I put some money together and bought something to help you."

"A special weapon, designed to fire special bullets," Yang said, turning the briefcase around to show her step-mother. Within lay a large, single-shot pistol and half a dozen rounds pressed into the case's foam lining. "Armor piercing .308 rounds made of depleted uranium."

"Excuse me?!" Summer exclaimed, eyes going wide.

"Steel Souls build up a resistance to anything they've faced before," Yang said, closing the briefcase again. "Irradiating her is an extreme measure, but it's so rare that I doubt she'll have any resistance to it."

"It's also long-term, so hopefully it won't wind up mattering," Ruby said, smiling weakly at her mother. "But, since handling radiation is a metabolic process, you should be able to handle this thing better than anyone else, Mom."

Summer stared at the two for a long moment, her cheek twitching, before she sighed. "When I get back, you two are in _so_ much trouble," she said, clearing the space between them and wrapping both in a tight hug. Yang chuckled and Ruby giggled as they returned it heartily, relieved that Summer was treating her return as a foregone conclusion.

"So, what's the plan, Summer?" Adam asked, hands clasped behind his back. "You still want me to drive you to the staging ground, or do you want to take your own car?"

"I think I explained just how bad it'd be if someone saw my car there," Summer said, reluctantly tearing herself free from the three-way hug. "I'll still need you for that, at least."

"The staging ground?" Ruby asked.

"I needed a good place to fight, well, someone like Raven," Summer explained, letting a smile dust her cheeks. "A place I could hide some weapons and lay down some traps, where we could fight our hardest without anyone being the wiser."

"Where?"

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"It's a nice view, isn't it?"

Raven sighed as she turned her head, blood-red eyes falling on Summer Rose standing at the foot of the building she lay on. Despite the jovial tone, the determined look in her silver eyes told Raven just what the other woman was planning.

"I'm surprised the quake left the Harpy district alone," Summer continued, making Raven sigh again. "But, then, I bet we both understand what happened by now."

"Is this necessary?" Raven asked, returning her gaze to the sky. "We both know why you're here, don't we? Why the pleasantries?"

"We both loved the same man, Raven," Summer said, her voice soft. Raven returned her eyes to her as she continued, saying, "We have that much in common, at least. We have to understand each other at least a little bit. So, I'd like to keep this cordial, if I can. A request, rather than a battle. Leave town. Never come back. The Soul Binder is dead, so there's nothing keeping you here, is there?"

"How do you think his ability worked?" Raven asked. "He facilitated contracts. Mine wasn't with him; he gained some strength from me, sure, but my contract was with Cinder Fall of the Londal Family of Cainhurst."

"What does that mean?"

"I lose my powers when I go against her," Raven said, her voice lacking in emotion. She sat up, moving so her legs could dangle off the roof's lip as she untucked her shirt from her skirt. Lifting her top, she exposed her bruised abdominals to Summer, making the police detective wince. "These are more than a week old. I haven't felt so powerless since my father died, but Cinder… She did this with her hands, Summer, not her powers."

For a moment, Summer just stared up at her. Then, she said, "Here's my next offer, then: tell me where Cinder is, let me kill her, and _then_ leave."

"I can't reveal her location to anyone unless she specifically orders me to," Raven said, letting out another sigh. She locked her gaze onto Summer again, sending a shiver up the silver-eyed woman's spine – the sheer predatory instinct hiding just beneath those crimson orbs was startling. "Why are you so willing to let me go, Summer? I killed your husband. I brought havoc into your city. I scare the shit out of your kids. Why?"

"We just want you gone, Raven," Summer said, letting out a sigh of her own. "I don't really care _how_ you leave my city, as long as no one has to die to do it. Plus, believe it or not, I don't like killing people. And I don't think you do, either," she added, her tone almost accusatory.

"You're right, Summer. I don't like killing people. The problem is that I don't _dis_ like it, either. I've heard that's a rather terrible thing."

Summer sighed again, mulling it all over again. "So, I can't get you to leave Yharnum alive. Is that the case?" she asked, prompting a nod from Raven. "Then it looks like we have no real choice in the matter, do we?"

"Regrettably." Raven chuckled, shaking her head sadly. "You know, it's almost a shame. If things had gone differently… Well, I doubt I'd have been too opposed to a polygamous relationship."

"Okay, I'm gonna stop you there," Summer said, fighting back a blush as she sternly lifted her palm to Raven. "Those sorts of what-ifs don't have any place in our minds when we're going to be trying to kill each other."

"Fine, fine," Raven said, sighing again – though the smile she still wore kept Summer fighting her blush. "So, how should we–"

Before Raven could finish her sentence, Summer drew a revolver from beneath her long black coat and shot her. The bullet slapped against Raven's forehead and burst apart, a swell of bright orange flame surrounding her head for a single second.

When the fire faded, Raven frowned down at Summer, utterly unharmed; even her hair had failed to burn. "Was that really necessary?" she asked, her voice low.

"Needed to check," Summer said, shrugging a shoulder. "Fire would've been easy."

"Easy to build up a resistance to, you mean," Raven said, sighing again. As Summer lifted her gun again, she leaped down from the roof, turning into a bird mid-fall and directing herself toward her ex-husband's widow.

'Finally,' Summer thought, ducking beneath a punch as Raven returned to her natural form right in front of her. 'That was far too much chatting for my liking.'

She thumbed back her revolver's hammer and let loose another shot, the round slamming into Raven's leg and sweeping it out from under her. Unlike the first, this one wasn't an incendiary round; it was a weighted round, an alloy of lead and silver, that had a higher stopping power than an ordinary bullet. Summer backed away further, smirking as she heard her adversary growl in displeasure, and then turned and ran down an alleyway, shouting, "If you want to finish this tonight, you'll have to follow me!"

Raven stood back up with an aggravated sigh, then turned back into her bird form and gave chase. 'Why hunt me down, only to turn and run?' she thought, only to immediately think, 'Oh, of course. It's a trap. Still, what does she think it could do to me?'

Raven dove through the air at Summer, only to miss; the shorter woman had ducked into a roll a mere second before her adversary's talons could strike the back of her neck. Raven shifted as she landed, impacting the ground hard and throwing a backhanded punch towards Summer, only to growl in frustration as she found nothing but air as Summer ducked just beneath it and kept running.

Summer had to keep herself from laughing openly as she avoided another dive-bomb from the freshly shifted Raven, though she wondered if she should – from the way Raven seemed to be growing more and more frustrated by her lack of success in hitting her, Summer felt that mocking her would likely turn it into unbridled rage. 'Not yet, at least,' she mused, dodging another punch by ducking into an alley – and wincing when she heard brick and wood tear free from the building Raven hit, nearly overshadowing the loud crack that sounded as the impact left a long crack up the side and shook dust and rotten wood free from its roof and walls. 'Okay, need to calm down,' Summer thought, suddenly confronted with the reality that a single hit from Raven would end her life.

Two minutes. That was all it took, but it felt considerably longer to Summer, whose heart pounded in her chest as she avoided another of Raven's powerful swings. Finally, though, she let herself smile as she ran through the rusted iron gates of her destination and broke free from Raven's line of sight.

 _Elysium_ , the cemetery's rotting wooden sign proudly proclaimed. Stone mausoleums and tall tombstones filled the otherwise open field, obscuring Raven's view of her surroundings. Dead brown grass crunching beneath her feet, she strode into the cemetery, wary but unhurried.

"So, is this it?" she asked loudly, slowly looking around for any signs of movement. She paused when she saw a wall of mist creeping towards her, realizing the lack of humidity would keep such a thing from forming. "Cute. Where's the fog machine, Rose?"

"There's half a dozen, at least," Summer's voice proclaimed, seeming to come from all around her. Raven, startled, swiveled her head in a futile attempt to determine where it was coming from. "Oh, you think you'll find me like that? To use your word: cute."

"You were an aerokinetic this whole time?"

Summer laughed; to Raven, each individual bubble of laughter seeming to come from a different direction. "Not even close. No, I just realized that there were extranormal abilities that don't take any inborn talent to use. Ventriloquism, for example. You can thank an Assassin I met a couple years ago for teaching me that lesson. Pissed Tai off to no end, that last month."

Both women sighed simultaneously, which only served to infuriate the both of them. "So, why bring be here, Rose?" Raven asked, starting to walk between the rows of graves again.

"Many reasons. It's far enough away from the rest of the city that we won't be bothered, even if something explodes. It's isolated enough from your usual haunts – pun not intended – that I could trap it at my leisure. And, most importantly… Well, just ask him."

Before Raven could respond, something struck her cheek hard enough to knock her over, sending her tumbling into a gravestone. She looked up, rage brimming in her eyes, only for it to disappear when she saw her attacker.

"Hi, honey," the ghost of Taiyang Xiao Long said, a broad grin stretching his cheeks. "I'm home."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

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	12. Chapter 12

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 **XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

"Hi, honey. I'm home."

Raven's eye twitched as she stared at the translucent figure before her, easily recognizing the short blonde hair and bare scruff of a beard her deceased ex-husband had. Taiyang Xiao Long looked much like he had in life, though he looked to be in his mid-thirties rather than the late forties he'd died in. His clothes, a simple T-shirt and jeans, could've been either from the day he'd died or from long before; he'd never been very fond of changing his attire much. "You came back from the dead just to do that?" Raven asked, drawing a chuckle from the ghost.

"Not _just_ to do that, but it was pretty high on my 'to-do' list," he said, favoring her with a grin.

"So, this is your hidden power?" Raven asked, looking away from her dead former spouse – and suppressing the surge of grief that welled up within her as she forced herself to remember both that he was dead and that she was the one who killed him – and searching for his widow. "You can call up the dead if they're buried nearby?"

"He's not buried here," came Summer's reply, each word seeming to bounce off a different headstone near Raven. "Why would I have him buried in the Harpy district? He's in the Everett Winters' Memorial Cemetery."

"Then why are we here, Ms. Rose?" Raven asked, forcing herself not to growl. She started wandering through the rows of graves somewhat randomly, hoping to either find Summer by sheer chance or to stumble over one of the fog machines spitting artificial mist into the cemetery.

"My other power is… specific, in a lot of ways," Summer began to explain. "It draws strength from being around death, but I don't need a dead body to summon a ghost. Once I do summon a ghost, though, it's under my control in a lot of ways – though I trust my husband enough to let him act on his own."

"Thank you, dearest," Taiyang said, chuckling again.

"I'm not sure what to call it, and I never asked him what it was called," Summer continued to explain. "The closest thing to an appropriate term I ever found was 'Grave Witch', but that was in a series of romance novels about a woman who finds out she's part fairy."

"Cute," Raven said. She caught a flicker of motion out in the mist and charged at it, only to growl under her breath as she saw that it was just an owl that had been startled by their conversation.

"You seem to like that word, Raven," Summer noted. "I doubt you'll ever say it again, though."

Raven jumped, startled, when she heard a shotgun racking just behind her. She turned to see Summer standing there, the hefty drum-barreled firearm braced against the crypt behind her as she fired. The blast took Raven in the arm, and – much to her shock – drew a bit of blood and flung her several feet away, as well as laid a spiderweb of long, deep cracks into the wall behind Summer. Raven landed in a roll, then ducked behind a headstone and started moving deeper into the fog, trying to break line of sight with the first woman to draw her blood in years.

"Yeah, you like that, huh?!" Summer called after her, letting herself laugh – it was a wild, half-panicked laugh, which both of them noted as it left her lips. "You think I didn't prepare for this, Raven? I'm more than ready to take you on!"

Raven grit her teeth as she bent down behind an especially large tombstone, staring at her shoulder in a mixture of shock and wonder. More than two dozen small holes had been punched into her shirt by Summer's shotgun, but as far as she could tell only two silvery beads of metal had managed to pierce her skin, digging into her shoulder and drawing a trickle of blood. As neither had buried itself deeply into her shoulder, she grabbed the protruding end of one of them and tugged it out, then blinked in surprise when it started melting in her hand.

"Not letting that sit in me," she muttered under her breath as she pulled out the other bead, hoping not much of it had gotten into her system.

Before she could toss them away, a fist-sized pillar of wind slammed into her stomach and threw her up into the air. She gasped, spit flying from her mouth and beads of mercury falling from her hand as she tumbled through the air, only for another current of highly compressed air to slap her back down to the ground. She hit the gravestone she'd been hiding behind face-first, crushing the old granite beneath her jaw and nose – which failed to break from the trauma.

"Don't forget about me!" Taiyang's exclamation came from behind Raven, and she rolled to the side, only catching the edge of the third burst of wind he sent her way. She threw a chunk of stone at him, only for it to phase through him harmlessly; growling softly, she reminded herself that she was fighting a _ghost_.

'Damn it,' Raven thought, gritting her teeth as she started running in a random direction. 'I shouldn't have let her lure me here. She knows the terrain better than me, she's got a power I didn't know about, and she's got at least one weapon that can actually _hurt_ me. The only way to win is to get in close, but she's got a whole bunch of shit in the way of me doing that. How do I win this?'

She was so lost in her musings that she nearly missed spotting the fog machine sitting beside one of the few crypts the cemetery held. When she did see it, she stopped, blinked at it, then started looking around for any potential traps – Raven hadn't had an easy job in a long time, and was more than a little suspicious of the machine's obvious placement. After a moment spent scanning for tripwires and motion detectors, she walked over and stomped on it, easily crushing the mostly plastic machine – and setting off the mine that had been hidden beneath it.

Raven grit her teeth as the burst of heat and concussive force faded, glaring down at the shredded and smoldering remains of her boots and skirt. Without saying a word, she darted into the crypt and hide within it.

Her hunch was proven true a few moments later when she heard a soft crunching approaching the stone building. When she heard a faint, feminine chuckle, Raven shoved her shoulder against the wall and tore through it, easily crashing through the stone towards Summer, who spun to face her.

Before Raven could reach her, though, Summer fired her shotgun again and flung her away, producing a gasp from the practically half-naked brunette as more of the spheres of mercury punched into her skin, her abdomen this time.

But she didn't miss the way Summer grit her teeth and grunted in pain, nor did she miss the way her arm seemed to crumple beneath the gun's recoil. 'Thought as much,' Raven thought as she dove back into the fog, trying to put enough distance between them that she could dig out the few beads that had pierced her flesh. 'A gun strong enough to hurt me would hurt pretty much anyone who tried to wield it. She's not using that arm anytime soon.'

Summer groaned quietly as she dropped the shotgun, realizing the same thing Raven had, and strode towards the nearest cache of weapons she'd hidden in the graveyard. "Dear gods!" Taiyang mumbled as he floated back to her side. "Are you okay?"

"I will be," Summer grunted out, kicking off a layer of dirt from the folded tarp she'd placed behind a grave more than a week ago. Her injured arm pressed tightly to her chest, she stooped and picked up a short-barreled shotgun – one which was nowhere near as strong as the one she'd just abandoned. She slung it over her shoulder by a strap, double-checked that the safety was on, and said, "Go looking for her. You staying by my side won't help if she catches me by surprise."

"But–"

Summer grit her teeth as a loud snap sounded through the air – the shattered bone of her arm had started to set itself and fuse back together, much to Taiyang's surprise. "Just go. Please."

The ghost sighed, then turned and shot out into the mist, leaving a churning trail behind him. Summer sighed, trying to ignore the roiling in her stomach as she continued arming herself for the rest of the fight. It wasn't until she drew the long-barreled, single-shot pistol that her daughters had given her and checked it over that she realized she was procrastinating, that she realized she truly dreaded forcing the confrontation like this. So, tucking it back into the special lead-lined holster that had come with it, Summer turned and stalked out into the night, her revolver back in her hand and her eyes scanning the dark and mist surrounding her.

When she heard a tremendous boom followed by a loud crash in the distance, Summer smiled – Raven had set off another of the fog machines' traps, and she knew precisely which one it was. Taking a deep breath, Summer started jogging in that direction, hoping to take her prey by surprise.

Raven growled softly as she got a hand beneath the crypt wall pinning her to the ground, then started lifting it up off of her legs. Despite her considerable strength, though, it was still slow going – main strength only did so much without proper leverage, something she had learned a long time ago. She didn't bother tossing it off of herself dramatically, reasoning that would take too much effort; instead, she pried it up just enough to pull herself out from beneath it, then let it slam back to the ground and crash loudly against the headstones it had crushed on its first descent.

She stood back up, glaring at the scorch marks that littered its top and sides, then at the shattered remains of the rest of the crypt; it seemed that the directed explosives that had taken out the roof and other walls hadn't been placed with enough care to keep from harming the wall Summer had wanted to tumble. "Amateur," Raven muttered darkly, turning to jog away from the mess of sound that had signaled where she was – only for a blast of compressed air to hammer into her injured shoulder and send her spinning to the ground. She grit her teeth at the faint pain that flickered through her arm – completely ignoring the faint discomfort from her feet, knees, and thighs scraping against the grave dirt and freshly made gravel – as she stared up at the ghost of her former husband.

"Good thing it's a warm night, huh?" Taiyang asked playfully, though his eyes lacked any warmth whatsoever. "It's a pity, though; that skirt looked good on you."

Raven frowned, only for another burst of wind to slam into her chin from below and send her a full foot into the air. She growled as another took her in the side and sent crashing back-first into a headstone, causing it to break against her body.

"Why are you making jokes, Tai?" Raven asked softly, glancing around into the fog still surrounding her. "I know you, or at least knew you. You never joked about people dying, or even being hurt. I assume you wouldn't make those sorts of flirty remarks to someone you intended to kill."

"You killed me, Raven," Taiyang's voice came to her through the mist. "It kind of gives a guy a new perspective on life. Well, death. You know what I mean; at least, you will soon!" Raven growled again as more wind pressed against her, though this time the gale wasn't enough to lift her from the ground, instead making her skid a few inches to the side.

Just enough for Summer's bullet to hit her cheek rather than the side of her jaw. The depleted uranium round tore punched through the skin and muscle, though it clattered to a jarring halt against her teeth; still, it was enough to tear a pained yell from her.

One eye closed from the pain, Raven spat the bullet out of her mouth, glad to be rid of the bizarre metallic taste. As it clattered to the ground, she pressed her trembling fingers against the wound, only to feel a surge of nausea roll through her as she realized she could feel her tongue through the hole. She spat out some of the blood pooling in her mouth, then glared at Summer as her opponent stepped into her sight, her hand – the one holding her single-shot pistol – looking battered from the recoil it had been subjected to.

"What –" Raven began to ask, only to wince and growl as the hole in her cheek stretched as she spoke. "What was that?" she asked in a guttural tone, forcing herself to form the words in her throat and on her tongue rather than on her lips; as a result, it came out as more of a growl than her usual womanly tone.

"May you never live to find out," Summer said cryptically, stowing the pistol into its holster. She drew out a revolver – one Raven recognized as the one she'd used to fire the incendiary round that began their confrontation – and fired at Raven's leg, the high-power round jerking Summer's arm back as it did the same to Raven's knee. She buckled, but dove towards Summer as she thumbed back the gun's hammer again, hoping to tackle the detective to the ground and end the fight right there – only for another jet of compressed air to take her in the side and send her flying away, back into the fog that still surrounded them.

Taiyang floated back to Summer's side, saying, "This is starting to get old."

"The battle's barely begun," Summer said, forcing herself not to smile at him. "Keep on her. You know how this needs to work."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he grumbled as he drifted after Raven.

A pang went through Summer's chest at the sight of her dead husband acting so despondent, but she forced herself to ignore it. She knew better than to get attached to a ghost she'd raised, knew that him being back was only temporary and that she'd have to get used to living without him again – if she ever had.

But the sight of him, even translucent, brought back memories.

" _Hello, Mr. Xiao Long. I'm Officer Belladonna, and this is my partner, Officer Rose. We're assigned as your security detail for the day."_

 _Taiyang blinked at the pair of uniform-clad police officers, gently rocking a blonde-haired babe in his arms as he stared at them with tired eyes. "Sure, sure," he said, his voice as fatigued as the rest of him. "Come on in."_

 _Summer rolled her shoulders uncomfortably as she followed him inside, knowing that Ghira wasn't far behind her; the door closing behind them was a good sign of that, at least. Taiyang led them to the apartment's combined dining room and kitchen, then gestured for them to sit as he set his daughter down in a small plastic crib beside the table._

" _Can I get you two anything? Water, tea? Coffee?" he asked, already moving to search the cabinets for clean mugs._

" _No, that's…"_

" _Tea would be great," Summer said, cutting off her partner with a loaded glance. From the few seconds she'd been in his home, she'd been able to tell he was keeping himself from worrying by keeping himself busy – the lack of any dirty dishes in the sink, the absence of dust or debris on the floor despite the number of police that had been in his home the last three days, his face being completely clean-shaven despite his readily obvious fatigue, and the way his daughter had been asleep in his arms were all compelling evidence, in her eyes. "Thank you."_

Summer shook her head before the memory could draw her in too deeply, then took stock of her injured arm again, pressing her fingers against the purpled flesh. Pain flashed through her as she checked it, but she ground her teeth together and kept going, eventually determining that she'd only need another few minutes spent in the graveyard for it to finish healing.

'Good thing I "forgot" to mention that,' Summer thought with a halfhearted chuckle. She tucked her revolver back into its holster and started moving, essentially just idly walking through the graveyard as she reloaded the single-shot pistol with another depleted uranium round. It took a while – as she could only use one hand – but after a minute she tucked it back into its own holster and drew her revolver back out.

Another loud boom sounded through the cemetery, but this time Summer winced at the sound; if too many fog machines were destroyed, she'd lose her ability to break contact with Raven and reload her special guns. This time, she took off at a run, hoping to find her way there before Raven could hide and set a trap of her own, like she had the first time.

Raven swore – loudly – as she found herself completely naked, what little had remained of her clothes torn apart from the latest trap she'd set off, though the real reason she was swearing was the massive bruise slowly forming on her arm and the side of her chest. Frustrated, she slammed her fist – the one on her other arm – against what little remained of the nearest headstone, shattering it entirely. "Bitch," she growled, only to wince and lift a hand to the hole in her cheek, which was now covered in soot, dirt, and debris. "Fuck, this hurts."

A crack split the air, and another depleted uranium struck Raven, drawing a high-pitched scream of pain from her as the round dug into her leg and drove her to her knees. She whirled around, glaring at Summer as she cracked open the steaming single-shot pistol and shakily reloaded it. "Any last words, Raven?" she asked softly, snapping the gun shut and taking aim at the woman who murdered her husband.

"Not yet, I don't."

Raven shifted the instant before Summer fired, her form blurring into that of a small bird as the round zipped through the space her eye had been. Unlike her greatly injured human form, Raven's bird form was entirely uninjured, allowing her to take flight the instant she had wings; letting loose a furious avian screech, she hurled herself at Summer, who let out a wordless cry of alarm as she dove to the ground, narrowly avoiding the haphazard attack.

Summer rolled to her feet, years of practice making it easy despite her still-broken arm. Still, it _hurt_ ; she set her jaw against the pain as she tried to keep track of the dark-feathered bird circling above her, wishing she hadn't chosen to pick this fight at night.

She rolled to the side as Raven dive-bombed her, just barely dodging her beak and talons. Whirling around as she got her feet back beneath her, Summer holstered the single-shot pistol and drew out her revolver again as she watched Raven shoot back up into the sky and circle around to face her. She rolled again when Raven attacked again, loosing another ear-splitting avian screech when she missed yet again.

When Raven dove at her again, Summer fired, clipping her wing with a high-power round and sending her off-course. She let out a shriek as she hit the ground, only for it to turn into a human's howl of rage as she stood back up, back in her human form.

Summer holstered her revolver as Raven stood back up, then drew a slender knife from her hip. She spun it in her hand, settling it into a reverse grip and falling into a familiar stance as her opponent glared at her.

" _How'd you get so good with a knife?"_

 _Summer smiled over at Taiyang, taking in the sight of him playing with his daughter for a brief moment. She spun her knife around playfully before she turned away, returning her attention to the lettuce she was shredding. "Do you really want the answer to that, Tai?" she asked, fighting not to wince as she called him by the nickname – she'd had herself removed from his security detail less than a week ago after realizing that she was developing feelings for him, and every idle moment of domesticity felt like she was betraying the badge she still carried._

" _Well, color me curious," he said, chuckling. Yang cooed beneath him, and he cooed back at her, bringing a giggle bubbling from the infant's lips. "You can feel free not to answer if you don't want to. Women have their mysteries; I know that for a fact."_

 _Outright wincing at that, Summer spoke before he could drift too deeply into memories of his ex-wife. "I didn't have the best childhood. The foster system isn't always a pretty place."_

" _Oh? I… I didn't realize," Taiyang said, chuckling sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Summer."_

" _I don't like to talk about it," she said, shrugging one shoulder uncomfortably. "People always look at me differently afterward, like I've got two heads or something. But… at least it let me meet Tendai and Annette," she added. "They got me when I was fourteen, and by then… I was one of the worst people I'd met. I'd nearly gone to juvie twice at that point, and I was always testing them, trying to figure out just how far I could take things before they'd send me back, but… Well, there's a reason I took their last name," Summer said, smiling again as Taiyang laughed._

" _Well, I'm glad to hear that story ended well," Taiyang said. She could tell he was grinning at her – though she wasn't sure how she knew that – so she turned to smile at him in return. "I mean, I knew it would, since you're a cop now, as well as making dinner for a man you barely know. What brought that on, anyway?" he asked, making her smile stiffen. "The whole 'coming over for dinner' thing, I mean."_

" _I saw what you had in your fridge and freezer the last time I was here is what happened," Summer said accusingly, gesturing at the nearby refrigerator with her knife. "You don't do much cooking, do you? Other than frozen dinners and chicken nuggets."_

 _He chuckled again, though it was weak this time, and looked back down at his daughter, who'd looked over at Summer with curiosity in her violet eyes. "Been a bit busy to cook, and the few times I bought stuff for it, I… I just couldn't bring myself to. I used to like cooking, too," he said, voice lowering to a mumble._

 _Summer winced and wished she'd deflected the topic somehow, but didn't stop Taiyang as he continued. "I think it's because I used to cook for her," he said, almost wistfully. "Every time I pick up a knife, or pull a thing of lettuce out of the fridge, I just… I remember everything. All at once, just… all of it. And it sucks, and I hate it, and… and I think I'm starting to hate her for it."_

 _She bit her lip as Taiyang trailed off, then gingerly set the knife down and turned to face him. "I'm sorry, Tai," she said, walking towards him and sinking to her knees to put her face on level with his and meet his eyes. "I wish that there was more I could do, more anyone could've done."_

" _No, don't," he said, shaking his head. He looked back down when Yang put a hand on his, tugging on one of his fingers and cooing inquisitively up at him. With a chuckle, he added, "I just need to try not thinking about her for a while, I guess. Get my mind off her."_

" _Would it help if I called you something else?" Summer asked, drawing a confused look from the older blonde. "I mean, Tai can't be that uncommon of a nickname for a man named Taiyang. How about I call you… Taiya?"_

 _He chuckled again, then bowed his head, his cerulean eyes twinkling as he smiled at her. "Well, I can't say I hate it, Summer. Bit strange to my ears, but I think I could get used to it."_

Summer was jerked back to reality as Raven screamed wordlessly again, rage fueling the naked woman's charge towards her. She swung in with a particularly heavy punch – one that had a much greater degree of skill to it than Summer would've guessed a Goliath would have – but Summer avoided it without much difficulty, drawing on the lessons she learned in Capoeira with her daughter. A few quick steps and a sway of her hips put her out of harm's way, and she rewarded Raven for her attempt with a slice across the arm.

One that managed to draw blood.

Summer took advantage of Raven's surprise, cutting her again with the diamond-dusted blade before dancing backwards, avoiding a retaliatory backhanded swing that would've taken her head off. Summer smirked at her opponent, baiting another enraged reaction to keep her from thinking logically about the situation.

But it didn't work. Though fury shone in Raven's red eyes, she backed a step away from Summer, glancing down at the wounds she'd already taken over the course of the fight. Bruising on her chest and arm, at least one broken finger – as far as she could tell – a hole in her cheek, another in the back of her knee, several smaller holes in her arms and chest, the veins around them slowly turning grey and showing through her skin, and now multiple slashes that looked like they would require stitches to fully recover – and stitching up a wound was something Raven's Steel Soul would keep from happening.

'Glue, then,' Raven thought to herself, letting out a sigh as she returned her full attention to Summer. The police detective was faring quite a bit better, at least in Raven's opinion – although she was still fighting a powerful opponent, Summer had only a broken arm and a few scrapes to show for it, and the broken arm was more or less self-inflicted. 'Wait,' Raven thought, scowling as she looked her over more thoroughly. Eyes widening, she mumbled, "Your arm…"

"Oh, is it done already?" Summer asked, smirk returning as she glanced down at the limb. Though it was discolored with a wide bruise, it wasn't as horribly misshapen as it had been when she'd last checked. She flexed it, smirk widening as only a weak flicker of pain went through her at the motion. "Bloodmaker, plus Grave Witch," she said, letting out a laugh as Raven's eyes narrowed. "Looks like I've got a compounding set too, Raven."

Raven growled, making to lunge at her, only for another gust of wind to slam into her and send her flying away. She was getting used to it, though, and managed to turn herself around in mid-flight to land feet-first on the side of the crypt she'd been thrown towards. Before the shade of her ex-husband could attack her again, she leaped, throwing herself at Summer with murder in her eyes.

Summer cursed under her breath and darted to the side, but Raven shifted forms in mid-air, her feathers adjusting her path even before reality finished blurring to accommodate her change. Her beak stabbed into Summer's chest, drawing a pained gasp from the police detective as the impact knocked her from her feet. Raven withdrew, opening her mouth as she pulled her beak from Summer's stomach to widen the wound, and flung herself away just in time to avoid a retaliatory strike from Taiyang's shade.

As she flew off into the dark and mist, Taiyang flew over to Summer's side and clamped a hand over her stomach wound in an attempt to staunch the bleeding. "Summer?" he asked, drawing a groan from her. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," she mumbled, gritting her teeth and grunting as she sat up and started dragging herself to her feet. "Not the first time someone's stabbed open my guts."

"Gods alive," Taiyang mumbled, staying close as she recovered her knife and revolver. "And you kept it from me?"

"I got better, and I didn't want you to worry," Summer said, trying to keep herself from feeling too much for the ghost. From the few times she'd experimented with her powers, she'd come to believe that the spirits she called up were little more than memories and ideas given shape by her will. "Let's just finish this, okay? No offense, but I don't hope to see you again too soon, Taiya."

The ghost sighed, then chuckled. "Yeah, I get it."

He kept his hand on her for a long moment after that, only letting go when Summer sighed and brought her own to her still-bleeding wound. After that, he drifted off, keeping an eye on her until he disappeared into the slowly dissipating fog.

'I can't handle much more of this,' Summer thought with another sigh. She could feel the fatigue starting to settle in, the insistent gnawing within her stomach; even after her exposure to the altar blood in the crypts beneath Beacon reducing the amount of food she needed to something closer to normal, she still needed more than the average woman to survive. But it seemed that her appetite returned to the way it was before if she was heavily injured, forcing her body to consume calories at an accelerated rate. 'Should've brought a couple granola bars or something.'

With yet another sigh, Summer removed her hand from her chest and checked the wound. Though it was still an open hole into her chest, it was already starting to close, her flesh and skin seeming to grow and stretch to fill it. "Well, that's something I didn't need to see," she mumbled to herself, looking back up and trying to ignore her welling nausea.

Stifling a groan, she shambled off into the night, teeth gritted against the pain as she searched for her prey. When the memory came, she let it wash over her, trying to hide from her pain within it.

" _You're pregnant?" Taiyang asked, blinking at her. "What… but… how?"_

" _If you don't know how at this point, I've got some serious questions for you, Taiya," Summer said, swallowing a laugh at the bewildered look on her boyfriend's face._

" _It was that time the condom broke, wasn't it?" Taiyang asked, letting out a low groan as he slumped further back into his chair. "That_ one _time. I thought you had something for the morning after, didn't you?"_

" _I got called in early the day after, and, um… may have forgotten to," Summer replied with a blush._

" _Well, I… uh," Taiyang said, blinking repeatedly again. "Huh. That's certainly… something."_

" _Y-yeah," Summer stammered out. She cleared her throat, then said, "I'm going to keep it. I… I want this baby, Taiya."_

" _Oh, I wasn't… I wasn't going to say you shouldn't," Taiyang said, scratching his cheek sheepishly as he blushed. "I kind of like the idea of Yang having a little sister. I think she'll like it, too, once she gets over having to share the two of us," he added with a laugh._

 _Summer smiled, though both of them could easily tell how brittle it was. "Yeah. The two of us."_

" _Oh, I don't like the way you said that, Summer," Taiyang said, frowning worriedly at her. "What's wrong?"_

" _Well, uh… we aren't married," Summer began weakly, latching onto the first excuse she could find and immediately following it with another. "And it's too soon for us to get married. We've only really been together for, what, four months? It'll look like you were cheating on your wife with me."_

" _So? I don't really care what other people think about me anymore, Summer. And, well, now that you've put the idea in my mind…" he said, trailing off with a wide smile._

" _No, Taiyang," Summer said, fighting back another laugh. "I won't marry you."_

" _Aw, but why not?" Summer couldn't hold herself back anymore, a giggle bursting from her lips as Taiyang kept grinning at her. Once she'd stopped, however, so did he, adopting a more serious expression as he asked, "Seriously, Summer, why not? I love you, you know, and… and now, we're having a baby. And I think Yang could use a mother's touch in her life, you know?"_

" _Please, Tai, this is… It's hard enough as is," Summer said, raising a hand. Her heart was pumping far too quickly for her liking; she hadn't realized that he'd actually want to marry her, especially not so soon, and was having trouble keeping herself together. "You know what my ability does to me. You know that you'll outlive me by twenty years, if not more. I don't… I don't want to do that to you."_

" _Do what? Leave someone you love behind? Is it somehow better that the mother of my child is dead is she isn't my wife?" Taiyang asked, his voice nearly emotionless. It shocked Summer, as she hadn't heard him speak without an almost absurd amount of emotion since those first few weeks after Raven disappeared. "I love you, Summer. I know what you are, I know what will happen, and I accept it. Until the day you die, I'll love you. Even after, I'll hold you in my heart and remember you fondly. And there's nothing you can do to make me feel otherwise."_

 _Summer swallowed, blinking away tears. "I'm sorry, Taiya," she murmured, her voice breaking. "I can't."_

'Worst mistake of my life,' Summer thought, an almost silent chuckle escaping her lips. 'Glad I said yes the next time.'

By the time she reached her destination, Summer's stomach wound had almost fully healed, much to her own surprise. The skin around it had bunched up to stem the flow of blood, her muscles contracting in ways that were painful, but not nearly as much so taking the hit itself had been. Another minute, she reasoned, and she'd be able to fight at her best again.

Still, the arena she'd chosen wasn't quite to her advantage. Having been sold to the cemetery after the block of buildings had burned down some centuries ago, the open field budded off from the graveyard in an almost unnatural way. Hemmed in on three sides by black iron fencing and on the other by headstones and a mausoleum, it was quite large – and, as of the last two explosions Summer had heard while shuffling through her memories, fog-free.

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Summer pointed her revolver at the ground and fired off a single shot, sending a shark crack through the air. "Can you hear me, Raven?" Summer shouted, eyes scanning the seemingly empty darkness surrounding her. "Let's finish this, here and now. No more traps, no more tricks. Just you, me, and our husband's ghost."

Taking another deep breath, Summer settled in to wait. Eyes forward, facing into the cemetery, she stood awaiting a fight she knew had a high chance of ending her life; even with her injuries, she knew Raven was strong enough to kill her.

But she wanted the Brute out of her city, and this was the only way she could see to make it happen.

Before long, Taiyang appeared near her, a look of confused worry on his translucent features. He opened his mouth to speak, only for a look from his widow to make him decide otherwise.

Five minutes after giving her challenge, Summer saw Raven striding steadily towards her, only barely limping despite the bullet hole in her leg. She carried a headstone in one hand; the grave marker was heavily singed and missing several chunks in seemingly random places.

"Took you long enough," Raven grunted, tossing the stone to the side; despite the casual way she threw it, it soared more than twenty feet before shattering against the iron fence surrounding them.

Summer waited for the loud clattering boom of the gravestone's destruction to stop echoing around them before she spoke. "A fair fight with you wasn't one I had much chance of winning," Summer said, shrugging a shoulder.

"And now that I'm wounded, you think you stand a chance," Raven said, nodding her head, baffling the police detective – it almost seemed like she was _agreeing_ with her. "Not much of one, considering you're keeping Taiyang around, but you still think you can win."

"If you get in a single hit, odds are you win. It's that simple," Summer said, giving another one-shoulder shrug.

"How's that hole in your chest doing, by the way?"

"Better. You gave me a bunch of time to recover."

"Hmm. I was hoping it would slow you down."

"I thought it would, too, but my talents are surprising me here."

"Hmm."

The two stood facing each other for a long few moments, slowly realizing that neither of them really wanted to keep fighting but that neither was willing to give up. They both knew the stakes, they both knew what the other wanted, and they both had something compelling them to return: for Summer, the love of her daughters and friends; for Raven, a supernatural contract with an anti-suicide clause.

Finally, after an eternity spent waiting, Summer made the first move. Her hand moving so quickly that it almost seemed a blur, she drew her single-shot pistol and leveled it at Raven. The Brute moved with speed far surpassing that of an ordinary human, moving in an awkward, shuffling zigzag to keep her opponent from being able to aim accurately as she closed the distance.

A hammer of compressed air slammed into Raven's shoulder as she got within five feet of Summer, sending her away from the police detective at an angle. She rolled as she hit the ground, nearly two decades of experience as a bruiser in the criminal underworld granting the reflexes of a world-class martial artist. She flung herself to the side the moment she got her feet beneath her, a small smile stretching her lips as the harsh crack of Summer's pistol split the air.

The bullet whizzed by her, shearing against the cast-iron fence as it flew off into the night. Summer cursed and lowered the gun, instead raising her revolver – which she still held in her other hand – and aiming it at Raven, tracking her as she stalked in a circle around her.

Raven's steps halted abruptly as she felt herself press against a thick, invisible mass in front of her. It did little to slow her, though; it merely altered the path she took, made her step more heavily – and made her wince in pain as the wound at the back of her leg tugged irritably with every step she took. Still, it made her pattern much less erratic and far easier for Summer to track.

Another blast of sound tore through the air as the police detective fired, her high-density round slamming squarely into Raven's knee – on her injured leg – and drawing a pained growl from her husband's killer.

Reality blurred around her as Raven shifted once more, taking flight nearly as fast as the bullet Summer sent towards her eye. She let loose an enraged avian scream as she felt the air sucked away from beneath her wings, courtesy of Taiyang's ghost, but shifted again in mid-flight, dug her feet into the earth beneath her, and shot herself forward, tackling Summer.

Her shoulder rammed into the detective's chest, producing an audible series of cracks as multiple fractures and breaks appeared in her collarbone and along her ribs as the two of them tumbled to the ground. Raven rolled to her feet as her momentum carried her past her fallen adversary, then whirled to face her – only to pause when she saw her husband kneeling at her side, flickering motes of light falling from his spectral eyes.

"One hit," Summer said, despite the pain that coursed through her with every breath she took, every word she spoke, "and it ends. I said as much, didn't I?" She coughed, tears leaking from her eyes as raw agony flowed through her and blood spilled from her mouth.

Raven stood there, staring for a long moment, before she finally scowled and looked away. "I'll have scars to remember you by, at least," she mumbled, folding her arms over her chest. She tried to ignore the throbbing in her arm, leg, and cheek, but it was difficult for her – especially with her foe suffering in such an obvious manner. "Would you like me to finish it?" she asked, raising her voice.

Summer laughed weakly, only to regret it when pain roared through her, so heavy it made her nauseous. "It might be better for you if you did," she admitted, tilting her head back to look through her husband's head and at Raven. With a minor effort of will, she told him to move to one side, and he did, abject misery painted across his pale features. "With my powers, I might survive this. I'll leave it up to you, though."

Raven sighed, shaking her head. "Your blood is on my hands either way, but… I don't want to do it, Summer. I know what people say about me, but I've never enjoyed killing, and…" She trailed off, eyes meeting her husband's. "And ever since you, Tai, I've hated it. I hate hurting people. I hate seeing what it does to the people who cared for them."

"Then stop," Taiyang's shade said. "It's that simple."

"I can't. My contract with Cinder compels me."

"Then let her kill you to end it, Raven."

She chuckled weakly, shaking her head again. "I can't. I'm too much of a coward."

Summer chuckled again, though it still pained her greatly. "Funny how that works, isn't it?" she asked, her voice steadily weakening. She coughed, and once more blood spilled from her mouth – it was slowly filling up her lungs, drowning her. "People do all kinds of stuff to avoid dying, because it scares them more than anything that could happen to them in life. And then, there's people like me. I've been dying since the day I was born. I know better than to be scared of it, because I know that I'll face the reaper sooner than later. It makes me… Well, it makes me do things like this."

With that, Summer leveled the single-shot pistol at Raven, having reloaded it while the criminal was distracted. She fired in the moment confusion turned into realization, the bullet sliding across the side of Raven's neck and drawing a bright line of red in its path.

"Damn," Summer mumbled, her breathing growing even harsher and wetter. "Good reflexes, Raven."

Raven laughed, though there was an edge of panic and anger to it. One hand clamped against the bleeding line on her neck, she said, "Even now, you still fight?"

"Until my last breath."

Raven laughed again, then nodded respectfully. "May you find peace in the next life, Summer," Raven murmured, barely loud enough for the dying woman to hear. Turning her eyes to Taiyang, she added, "You as well, Tai. I know I didn't say it back then, but… It hurt too much to."

"Just go," Taiyang mumbled. He couldn't even look at her anymore; he stared down at Summer's dying form, small beads of light leaking from his eyes and slowly drifting up into the sky.

Raven frowned, then turned on her heel, shifted back into her avian form, and flew away into the night. It wasn't long before she'd disappeared from Summer's vision, blurring the way it was.

Summer's eyes followed one of the lights trailing up from Taiyang's into the sky, slowly falling unconscious as pain and the blood filling her lungs took their toll on her. A memory surfaced, pressing itself insistently at her mind until she lost herself in it.

" _You know, I think you look good in white."_

 _Summer sighed, glancing at the reflection of her best friend in the mirror before her. Kali stood behind her, wearing a bright red dress that clung to her womanly figure impressively, highlighting both chest and hips in ways that Summer couldn't help but feel envious of._

 _Especially when she looked back at her own reflection, at the lack of overt curvature her white dress laid bare, despite the frilly lengths cupping her breasts and the swell of her rear. "Really?" she asked swallowing at the lump in her throat – for the hundredth time._

" _Of course, Summer. Would I lie to you?" Kali asked, laying a hand on Summer's shoulder._

" _You haven't in years," Summer mumbled. She took a deep breath, trying to rid herself of the self-consciousness that pervaded her thoughts._

" _Hey," Kali said, gently squeezing her shoulder; it was meant as a comforting gesture, but Summer had a hard time taking it that way in the state she was in. "Calm down. Odds are he's feeling just as nervous, you know."_

" _Who? The man who I'm about to marry, despite our daughter being two years old?" Summer asked dryly, drawing a chuckle from Kali. "Whose other daughter was… had a mother who… Gods alive, Kali. There's so much wrong with this, I don't think I can handle it."_

" _Well, at least you're not freaking out about the wedding itself," Kali murmured, squeezing Summer's shoulder again. "Half the weddings I've been to, the bride went berserk over something like a guest laughing at a speech or the cake being too dry. This is a nice change of pace."_

" _Really, Kali?" Summer asked, turning to face her. "It's not enough that I'm freaking out like this, you've got to brag about all the weddings you've been to, too?" Kali laughed again, then carefully embraced her nervous friend; after a moment, Summer returned it, just as careful not to smear their makeup on each other. "I'm sorry, Kali, it's just…"_

" _I know. Don't you remember how I was right before I married Ghira? Granted, my reasons were a lot less… significant than yours, but still! Remember how mad the makeup artist got when she had to touch up my blush for the third time, I was crying and sweating so much?"_

" _Great, now I've got more to worry about," Summer groused, though she was feeling much calmer than she had a minute ago. "What if I sweat through my dress?"_

" _The corset will keep that from happening, sweetie. Just stay calm, relax, and keep your eyes on Tai's face when you step out there."_

" _What? Why?"_

" _Because you look so good, I bet he'll blush when he sees you," Kali said, her smile turning sly. Summer blushed, though her Faunus maid of honor couldn't see it beyond the layer of makeup on her cheeks, so she groaned to show her embarrassment. "Feeling better now, Summer?"_

 _Summer blinked at her, then smiled, letting out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, at least a little. Thanks, Kali."_

" _No problem. Now then, we've got a little more time to kill, right? Up for some strip poker?"_

 _Summer laughed again, this time more genuinely. Before she could answer, though, the entrance to the tent all but burst open as a miniature red blur dashed inside. Wide-eyed, she stared up at the white-clad cop, mouth falling open as Summer blinked at her._

" _Mama!" Ruby uttered, toddling over to her mother to get a better look at her. "Pretty!"_

" _Ah, thank you, Ruby," Summer said, unable to keep herself from smiling at the sight of her daughter in her tiny red dress. Only a moment later, the tent flaps parted again, accommodating the much more sedate pace of her blonde sister._

 _Yang blinked as she caught sight of her soon-to-be step-mother; then, a broad smile parted her lips. "Wow, Mom," she said as she walked to her sister's side. "You look so pretty!"_

" _Thank you, Yang," Summer said, smile widening at the sight of her in her yellow dress – the color Taiyang had chosen to complement her choice of red. Despite being marred by the sling her arm was in – broken by her considerable strength, for such a young girl, and the way she'd tossed and turned in her sleep – she and her younger half-sister were a welcome sight to the nervous bride. "Both of you are looking so cute," Summer added, stooping down and pressing a kiss to each of their foreheads._

 _Ruby let out a happy little squeak and wrapped her arms around her sister's good arm as the blonde grinned and said, "Thanks, Mom!"_

" _Shouldn't you two be with Blake?" Kali asked, voice too full of amusement to be at all admonishing._

 _Still, Yang got defensive. "Sorry, Auntie Kali," she said, seeming to wilt before the Faunus's eyes. "Ruby just ran in here."_

" _Well, that's okay. This time," Kali said, smiling at the two of them. "Still, I bet she's missing you two. Why don't you go back to her, keep her company?"_

" _Okay!" Ruby exclaimed gleefully, starting towards the tent's exit – without letting go of her sister's arm. Yang could only smile as she let the toddler drag her away, the two of them wandering back to rejoin the other flower girl._

" _Still feeling nervous?" Kali asked, smiling as Summer stood back up._

" _I think I'll do just fine," Summer replied with a grin._

The memory was so strong, so visceral, that only the strange feeling of absence and loss permeating it pulled Summer out of it. Her mind was drifting – she could tell that much – but in the moment, she wasn't sure what she was about to lose.

"Taiya?" Summer croaked out. She shakily raised her hand, then sighed in relief when she felt his – rough, gentle, clammy – grasp it.

"I'm here, Summer."

"I love you. I love you so much," she mumbled softly, tears falling slowly down her cheeks as she tried to look at her husband. "Where are you? I can't see."

"Shh, my love. I'm right here. I'll be here until the very end, I promise. Just stay with me, please. Just stay…"

One instant, he was speaking; the next, he was gone.

And Summer's hand fell limply to the ground.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

The sun had already risen by the time Ghira found her. He'd known what he'd find the moment he saw the morning light, when he realized the night had gone by without a phone call from her.

He'd asked Kali to take Blake and go to Ruby and Yang; the two would need someone with them now that their mother was dead, too. Killed by the same woman who killed their father.

"What happened, Summer?" Ghira asked, his grief-stricken voice such a deep, gravelly rumble that it seemed to shake the whole cemetery. "You had a plan, weapons, everything you needed to take her out. What happened?"

No answer came.

Clenching his jaw, blinking against the tears building behind his eyes, and shifting the duffle bag full of the weapons he'd gathered from the cemetery, Ghira Belladonna went to his knees and gently lifted the corpse of one of his best friends in the whole world.

He had to be strong, at least for now.

'Funerals don't plan themselves.'

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Shattered skies," Weiss mumbled, distinctly uncomfortable – she wasn't sure whether to watch as Ruby and Yang sobbed into Kali's shoulders or to look away, ignoring the sounds that seeped into the kitchen. "This is real, isn't it?" she asked quietly, drawing Blake's attention.

"You have no idea how much I wish it wasn't," Blake muttered, her voice raw and eyes red – both evidence of the tears she'd shed on the drive over. "That damn bitch took too much from us the first time, and now…" she trailed off, staring down at the table before them.

Weiss didn't know what to do. Not for the first time, not even the first time in the last ten minutes, she wished that her brother and sister were there with her, if only so she wasn't alone in not knowing what to do; the two of them had gone to volunteer for a late-night shift at the shelter, and still hadn't gotten back yet.

But then, an idea struck her. One of the most foolhardy, almost suicidal ideas she'd ever had.

Taking in a deep breath, she turned to Blake and said, "Let's stop her."

"What?"

"Stop Raven. You, me, Ruby, Yang, and everyone we can get together on short notice," Weiss began to explain. "Gather up every weapon Summer commissioned, every powered person who has a chance to so much as slow Raven down, and make sure she goes down this time."

Blake inhaled sharply, her amber eyes seeming to smolder with leashed fury. It made Weiss flinch, but then she said, "Let's do it."

Weiss sighed silently as Blake rose from her seat and stalked into the living room, heart hammering in her chest. 'Too much, too quickly?' Weiss thought to herself as she followed, a spike of terror streaking through her at the thought of what she'd set in motion.

"Mom," Blake said. She cleared her throat as Kali glanced at her, gold eyes ringed with red. "I need to borrow them."

"What?" Kali asked, momentarily unable to process what her daughter wanted. Ruby, who'd settled back against the couch to stare at the ceiling mere moments ago, looked over at Blake as well, and was startled by the passion shining in the younger Faunus's eyes.

"Revenge?" Ruby croaked out, making Kali's eyes widen as she turned to face her again.

"Not alone. We get everyone. Anyone who owes any of us a favor, or who we could owe one to in return," Blake said, biting her lip as Yang looked up, tears still flowing freely from her eyes. "We do this together," she continued, voice lowered to something near a whisper. "Protect our city. Protect our family."

"Blake, what are you saying?" Kali asked, panic swelling in her chest as she realized what was going on. "You don't… Blake, you don't even have a power of your own. Raven will… She'll… I can't even think about it," she mumbled, turning away and shutting her eyes tightly.

"I won't be near the fight," Blake said. "I'll be… Adam's spotter. He'll have to find a decent rifle, but we'll be able to support everyone from a distance."

"I can provide support as well," Weiss immediately chimed in, though she wilted beneath the withering stare Kali directed her way. Nevertheless, she explained herself. "I can push her off-balance, parry and maybe block any punches or kicks she tries to throw. I can gather up people in danger and take them to somewhere safe. And, I can guarantee either myself, Winter, or Whitley can stay with Blake the entire time to do just that, if need be."

"Cardin owes us a favor," Ruby mumbled, blinking a few times as her mind caught up to what was being proposed. "He can use that shotgun Adam built for Mom without suffering from the kickback. And we can count on Izzy as part of Weiss's support team. Probably."

"Then let's make some phone calls," Yang said, voice rough. She sniffled, cleared her throat, and gently pushed herself out of Kali's grip. Ruby grabbed her arm and held onto it for a moment, love, fear, sorrow, and hope alike shining in her eyes, before she lowered her hand to intertwine their fingers together. "Who else we can bring in on this?" Yang asked, gently squeezing her sister's hand.

"Oh, dead gods below," Kali mumbled, staggering back a step as she watched four young women, her own daughter and goddaughter among them, plan the death of someone who'd caused not one, but two tragedies in their lives. "I… I need to call Ghira."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"How long will it take?"

Rufus sighed, hand pressed against his throbbing forehead. Extensive healings – such as the one he'd just provided – always took a lot out of him, and this one had proven considerably more taxing than most. "Assuming she can keep down water and… I don't know, soup or something, I don't drink my food… A couple days before she'd up and about again," he said, fighting the urge to scowl at the woman staring down at him.

Cinder let out a sound halfway between a sigh and a growl as she returned her gaze to Raven. The older woman had found her way to her doorstep, then passed out on it, leading to a surprised doorman who'd needed to be dealt with. His blood was still on the fringe of Cinder's sleeve, marring the otherwise smooth pattern of her dress. "I assume I can't hire you to play nursemaid?" she asked, her tone harsh.

"If I'm gone for too long, my colleagues will notice," Rufus said. He groaned as he rose to his feet, wobbling on them for a moment before he steadied himself and began packing away the few supplies he'd removed from his bag full of medical supplies. "Make sure she takes two of these every eight hours or so," he added, pulling out a small bag of pills and setting them down on the table beside the bed Raven lay on. "You know what penicillin is, right? I can never tell with you 'outside the law' types."

"Yes, I know."

"Since I'm pretty sure you won't be doing this yourself, make sure whoever you assign as her 'nursemaid', as you so eloquently put it, knows they can't get high off it," he said, barely even realizing she was glaring at him.

"Tell me everything you did," Cinder growled, making him sigh.

"Again?" Rufus complained, only to sigh again when he saw the murderous look in her eyes. "I fixed up the wound at the back of her leg, for starters," Rufus began, annoyance clear in his voice. "Set her broken fingers and knit them back together; same with the fractures in her arm. I sped up the bruising and closed the holes in her chest, as well as the few cuts she had. I purged her body of excess radiation, though there wasn't enough in her to give a fly radiation poisoning. And I patched up the hole in her cheek clumsily, like you asked. It'll scar for sure."

"Good," Cinder said, turning her glare back to Raven. "Leave us."

Rufus sighed again as he turned to leave, slinging his bag over his shoulder and running a hand through his short red hair. "Sure thing, boss," he mumbled softly as he left.

He paused only once he'd made it to the entrance, basking in the warmth of the sun shining high in the sky. As it always did, it invigorated him, seeming to warm his very soul. A newfound spring in his step, he strode back to his car, unable and unwilling to stop the pleasant smile that turned his lips.

'I was able to spread out the mercury in her veins,' he thought as he gently set his bag down in the passenger seat. 'Not enough to kill her, of course – couldn't risk my own life like that – but enough to weaken her considerably. When she wakes up, she'll think she can power through it, but she won't really notice she can't until the next time she gets in a fight.'

' _Good,'_ the Voice projected into his mind. Like always, it sounded vaguely feminine, and though it didn't seem to speak his language – or any he'd ever heard of – he could still understand it. _'I appreciate the efforts you have taken, Rufus Everett.'_

'And my reward?' he thought, sidling into the driver's seat. The throbbing in his head only intensified as its cause was thrust into his conscious thoughts.

' _The blood will be distributed soon. It will remove the foreign mass.'_

Rufus sighed again, though this time it was in relief rather than frustration or exhaustion. 'Thank you.'

As he drove off, Rufus whistled a tune to himself, dark brown eyes tracking the world around him with fresh, hopeful optimism. He still hated that his ability could only be used on others, but that didn't matter to him anymore.

'Looks like I won't be needing chemotherapy after all,' he thought, his smile widening.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

And that's the chapter.

We're not far from the end of this Part of the story, to be sure. Assuming I can maintain this pace (big if), I can presumably get the next two chapters completely done and posted before episode 1 of Volume 6.

Anyway.

Since it's likely to be a source of people directing annoyance towards me, here's an explanation. Feel free to ignore it.

Like I said – like Summer said – one hit from Raven is enough to kill. Summer was fast, she was smart, but Raven's a skilled fighter in her own right; Detective Rose had no chance of making it out of that final sort of confrontation alive. So, why'd she do it? She didn't have any other options left – her shotgun discarded, her cover (the fog machines) destroyed, she had no chance of maintaining the advantage she'd held early on in the fight. What's more, Raven's alternate form is both flight-capable – which Summer can't replicate – and black as the night sky, giving her perfect cover after Summer's was destroyed.

Long story short, Summer couldn't continue to fight in ambush tactics after the fog machines were destroyed as Raven would've turned the tables on her. As one hit from Raven is enough to kill, that would've been a death sentence to Summer.

So, again, why'd she force that final confrontation? To do some damage. To get some hits in. To make it as easy as possible for the next person to fight Raven. She went into the fight knowing it was a possibility; it's the entire reason why her opener at the graveyard was that mercury-pellet shotgun. She didn't know that Cinder had a Chirurgeon on her side, of course – how could she? – but imagine if Raven had kept those injuries!

It would've made it too easy, in fact. Let's make Team RWBY's accomplishment a real one, assuming they can manage it at all. They're bringing in a lot of B-listers, after all, and I only promised a minimum of one fatality per chapter.

Another thing: it should be pretty obvious to you by now that Raven's toughness was oversold. Every character who ever spoke about it did so believing that she was so durable she'd survive being shot by a tank; even Cinder thought she was far tougher than she had any real reason to. But Raven is a competent fighter, one who only built up a passing tolerance to common harms (through her Steel Soul ability). She doesn't like to take hits in a fight, even when they don't actually hurt her – it's a pride thing, mostly. So, despite her reputation, she isn't as tough as most people think.

Of course, after her brutal fight with Summer, Raven's Steel Soul is going to make her even more resilient than before. But that's an issue for next time.

My explaining myself in the bottom AN won't be a common thing going forward, but I feel that for this chapter it is absolutely one hundred percent warranted.

Until next…

No, wait. I have one last thing to say.

You guys know you can leave reviews, right? I mean, I know I haven't really been asking for any, but you're always welcome to leave them and I'll always be thankful for them (unless they're unnecessary fonts of hate, but those aren't really reviews at that point). Telling me what you liked and especially what you disliked will help me shape my works going forward, enabling me to become a better writer than I am now.

Until next time, everyone.


	13. Chapter 13

Well, fuck. I meant to have this – not just the chapter, this whole Part – done and out before Volume 6 started up. Sorry, folks.

I owe you another apology on top of that, though: I've been thinking about abandoning this fic the last few days. Well, more like weeks, to be honest. The fact that I couldn't muster any excitement to write the fight scene for this chapter is… worrying, in more ways than one, but it means that I might have to just… give up on this story. I don't really _want_ to give up on it, though; I _want_ to finish this story, and all my others, if only to prove to _myself_ that I can, but… Yeah. That's how it is, really.

Anyway, here's the chapter. Hopefully there aren't too many errors; I sincerely doubt I was able to catch them all, with the state I'm in.

 **XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

"Eighty hours or so, at my best estimate."

"She was alive _two days ago_ ," Ghira rumbled, scowling at the young ME standing in front of him. The two of them were in the morgue beneath the Yharnum General Hospital, and Ghira was trying _very_ hard not to see the stitched-up incisions that the thin sheet covering his recently deceased best friend didn't quite hide.

"I'm aware of that, sir," the ME said; he sounded like he wanted to do nothing more than collapse to the ground and sleep for the next few days. "All I'm saying is that her body had the appearance of more advanced degradation than the time frame you're describing. Her heart made it seem she'd been deceased for at least a week – what was left of it, anyway," he said, glancing down at the clipboard in his hand and wondering if he should describe the way the organ had been shredded apart by shattered bone.

In his tired, annoyed state, it was tempting.

But, deciding against it, the ME shook his head, instead saying, "Look, I know that this city has some odd stuff going on in it. Normally, I'd say that someone was trying to trick you, somehow, that she must've been dead for longer, but I know better than that here. So, instead, I'll simply advise against an open-casket funereal – if this rate of decay continues, she won't be readily presentable when the time comes."

Leaving Ghira sputtering incoherently behind him, the ME walked over to another metal table bearing yet another corpse – this one having quite obviously been crushed by rubble in the earthquake more than a week ago. He stared tiredly at it, sighed, then picked up the clipboard sitting next to it and started reading.

Letting out something halfway between a growl and a sigh, Ghira turned on his heel and walked out the door, only to bump into Winter – who looked nearly as tired as the other ME had.

"Ghira," Winter said in greeting, only drawing a grunt from him. She took a long pull from the forearm-sized energy drink she watched him glare at a wall, then said, "She did her best, you know."

"What?" Ghira asked, voice breaking as he turned to face her.

"She did her best. Armed herself to the teeth, prepared the battleground beforehand… Sorry, her partner let me read the reports," she said apologetically, grimacing as she took another sip. "There was more blood at the scene than hers, too. She got Raven to bleed. I thought that was supposed to be impossible."

"It is," Ghira said. He sighed. "But she's been proving me wrong since the day we met." He snorted, shaking his head, as he said, "You know I asked her out that day? Just walked up to this cute girl, nearly a foot shorter than me, and said, 'Hey, would you like to see a movie with me?' That was the first thing I ever said to her." He snorted again. "I'm not sure how we got there after that, but we wound up talking about ourselves right there in front of her locker. She somehow got me to say that I didn't think a man and a woman could be friends without there being something romantic or sexual between them, and she bet me there could."

Winter smiled, shaking her head slowly. "I didn't know that," she said simply, drawing another snort from the police chief. "What was the bet?"

"No, it was just… There were no stakes, just… her trying to prove something to a stubborn fool. I'm glad she did, though," he said, letting himself smile – though it was a grim, it was genuine. "If she hadn't, I wouldn't have had my best friend."

Winter smiled at him as he nodded to himself, but then she sighed. "I'm glad I could help," she said, forcing her smile to stay up.

"Help?" Ghira asked, eyeing her curiously. "All you did was listen to me tell a story. A shitty one, at that."

"And I'm perfectly willing to take the credit for how much calmer you are now than when you walked out of there," Winter said, drawing a chuckle from him. "Now, though, I think you should focus on getting back to your family, Ghira. You're not the only one mourning right now."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Just like that," Ruby said, smiling proudly at her older sister as she solidly hit the weighted bag they were using with a clean jab. "You're making good progress so far."

The blonde just sighed, stared down at her hand, then threw another jab – though it turned into a hook as she instinctively turned with the motion. With another sigh, she shook her head and said, "I'm not cut out for this, Ruby. This whole thing just… It goes against everything I've thought my entire life."

"I know, Yang," Ruby said, her smile fading as she laid her hand on her shoulder. "The best-case scenario is that we drive her off and never have to even _think_ about her again, but… that's not likely to happen. Odds are we're going to be forcing something more… _final_ , here, and I don't like it any more than you do." She sighed herself, then added, "But odds are you'll wind up needing to get into it with her directly if you come with us, and I'm not going to let you break your wrist by throwing a sloppy punch. Okay, Yang?"

Yang sighed again, then chuckled and nodded. Throwing another jab – slowly this time, making the motions more important than the moment of contact – she asked, "Why am I practicing jabs, again? I could get more power out of a hook or cross, right?"

"Yeah, but your body isn't built to handle the amount of force you can put out," Ruby explained, drawing a grunt from her sister as she kept practicing. "With the right exercises and supplements, we can probably get you to the point where you can handle about… maybe half your full strength? But that's not the point, either, really. She's stronger than you, tougher than you, and has more experience in a fight than you. You need to be _fast_ , and jabs are faster than just about any other punch I can teach you."

"Why's that, exactly?"

"The only two faster punches I know are hard to learn with big boobs," Ruby said, feeling her cheeks warm as her sister glanced at her, amusement clear in her violet eyes.

"Not what I meant, sis," Yang said, letting out a chuckle as she threw another jab, faster this time. "Why is speed better than strength against her? If she's so tough, we'll need every bit of strength we can muster to take her down, right?"

"Uh, not really," Ruby said, voice quieting. "I can… I can take her out. Permanently."

Yang paused, swallowing and clenching her teeth as she looked over at Ruby again. "You mean those wind blades, right?" she asked softly, letting her arm fall back to her side. "I thought you said you didn't want to use those ever again."

"I don't, but… I think I have to," Ruby mumbled. "I don't think there's another way to do this, Yang."

"Of course, there is," Yang said softly. She cleared the space between them in an instant, wrapping her arms around her sister and hugging her tightly as she said, "Mom proved it. Weapons still work; we just need the right ones."

"And we have the best one we could ever want," Ruby mumbled. "I just… I just need to use it."

"Ruby…" Yang began, only to trail off as she saw the look on Ruby's face – determination melding with fear and self-disgust. After a moment, she sighed and held her sister more tightly, causing Ruby's forehead to press against her shoulder. "If that's what you think we need to do, Ruby, then I'll support you in any way I can. I'll always have your back, no matter what. I promise."

"Yang," Ruby murmured against her shoulder. Her voice croaked, but Yang ignored both that and the wetness she felt seeping into her shirt. "Thank you, Yang. I love you."

"I love you too, sis."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

She found him sitting on an old metal bench in the Harpy district, somehow intact despite the split in the ground not twenty feet away. Eyes neutral, he stared out through the rusted chain-link fence at the city beyond, taking in the devastation that persisted despite the days that had gone by. It wasn't the first time he'd seen a city in ruin, and it almost certainly wouldn't be the last, but he still felt he'd never grow used to it.

"Is this what we were supposed to do?" he asked, idly kicking a chunk of concrete and sending it flying away. It clanked against the side of the nearby crevice, then tumbled into its dark depths – something he could sympathize with, given the emotions that had sunk their teeth into him. "Cripple the city, turn them against each other, destroy their semblance of civilization. Why? So some old bitch could take over a bit more territory and sell drugs to kids who don't know any better?"

"Mercury…"

He glared out at the ruin before him, the havoc he could've had a hand in making, and rose to his feet. "No. No more. I won't let Cinder, or Salem, or anyone do this shit anymore."

"Do you really feel that way?"

He stayed silent for a long moment. "I didn't use to," he admitted. "At first, I craved these sorts of missions. They let me get away from my father, and they let me hurt people the way he'd hurt me. But now…" He scoffed and shook his head, letting a small smile appear on his lips. "It's like they say, isn't it? If you were a mask long enough, it becomes your true face. I have friends here. That's more than I can say for Cainhurst."

"Then… what will you do?"

A full minute passed before Mercury turned his eyes to her. Hard as steel, he gazed at her with the full attention only an Assassin could bring to bear. "They'll be coming after you, Raven. And I'll be right there beside them, helping them do it. That's the first step."

She stared back at him for a moment longer, then let herself smile. She bowed her head, red eyes closing, and mumbled, "I can only hope you succeed, Mercury."

"Any chance of this coming back to bite me?"

"There are a few holes in the contract. I don't have to report turncoats, for one thing."

"Good. Still, this should be the last time we meet like this."

"Agreed."

He stared at her for a moment longer, then asked, "Do you remember when you told me about your experience with your husband's emotions? With that guy, Reviver?"

"Vaguely."

"I looked him up. He's been helping organize volunteers at the shelter. So, I decided to ask him a few questions."

"Where are you going with this, Mercury?" Raven asked, only now opening her eyes to stare at him.

"I asked him if he'd ever met anyone with weak emotions. Not numb, just… lesser," he said. "He said that he hadn't. So, I asked him if he'd ever met anyone with especially strong emotions, who could make normal people seem like they had weak emotions in comparison. At first, he thought I was asking about a woman who'd been in my year at Beacon, but then I told him I'd been asking about Taiyang, in particular. According to Reviver, Taiyang's emotions had been so strong that he'd had trouble maintaining the link."

"What?"

"You aren't numb, Raven. Whatever's going on with you, whatever made you have weird views about morality and all that… it's not related to emotional depth. In that, you're normal."

"I… Thank you," she mumbled, turning away – both to hide her blush and the tear that ran down her cheek. "I think… I think I know why, then."

"Well, I don't need to hear it if you don't want to tell it." He sighed, then turned away from her as well. "But, after today… We're enemies, you and I. I need to try to think of you as something to kill rather than a force of nature… or a friend."

She laughed. "Like I could ever be friends with a cocky little bastard like you," she muttered.

He laughed as well. "Well, you being an old hag makes it easier on me, too, I guess," he said, glancing back to see if she was glaring at him for that remark. His smile turned back into a frown when he saw she was still looking away. "This is goodbye, Raven. Whatever happens next… I'll try to remember the best in you, once this is all over."

As he left, jumping over the fence in a smooth, almost casual motion and then bounding away across the broken concrete beyond it, Raven sighed and shook her head. She only now turned, gazing at his retreating form with a sense of longing.

"If only it didn't have to be this way," she murmured to herself.

Then, she turned away, shambling deeper into the Harpy district.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Is this it?"

"No," Adam said, tapping the box it sat on; as long as the rifle draped across it, it couldn't hold more than three of the oversized rounds the rifle took. "The box has all the ammunition you could ever want. Assuming you can hit her, that is."

"I know how to shoot a rifle, Adam."

"Really?"

"Been practicing since I was fourteen. I can hit red at eighty yards, every time."

"Impressive, kid. You ever shot a person before?"

"… No."

"It's a whole different beast. Targets don't live. They don't move, breathe. They don't break apart into bloody messes when you shoot them. Trust me, kid: I know what it's like to shoot a person, and it's not something that everyone can do."

"Then why are you giving this to me?"

"Because shit's about to hit the fan." He sighed, shaking his head. "The Boss wants me with him for the next few days, at his side when she gets back. I can't go out looking for trouble until this mess is dealt with, Blake."

Blake sighed as well, then picked up the rifle and box of ammunition. "Any advice? For when I'm… in the moment?"

"Aim for center mass. People are easier to kill than most people realize; we've got all sorts of nonsense in us that we just can't live without. Pierce her heart, puncture her lungs, make her go into septic shock by putting a round in her guts. Should be easier than shooting for her eyes, which you'd have to do if you're going for a headshot; skulls are harder than video games pretend they are, and that's without factoring in a Steel Soul."

Blake nodded firmly, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Finally, she said, "Thank you, Adam. For everything."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"It won't be enough."

Weiss grimaced and spat to the side, struggling to rise to her feet after the utter smackdown that Winter had put her through. When she tried to stand, though, she winced and sent a hand down to her leg, pressing insistently against it to make sure she hadn't broken anything.

"If I can crack that armor, then I don't imagine it'll be worth the effort against her," Winter said. She stood with her arms folded, staring down at her sister as she slowly got her feet beneath her again. "The added mobility will be nice, certainly, but you could do that without the expenditure required by the whole suit. The gauntlets, pauldrons, and grieves would likely by enough."

"I wouldn't be able to easily move my chest and legs, then," Weiss said, stretching her leg to make sure it was alright. "I need something on my chest and thighs, and something to stabilize my neck, or the whole thing stops working well. Plus, the knight's armor is easy to visualize; what you're suggesting would take more concentration."

"Armor that can't take a hit is somewhat disingenuous, isn't it? And it doesn't make you any stronger, either. Which brings us back to my initial question: if you can't take a hit from her or harm her in any way, what is the point of exposing yourself to such danger?"

Weiss grimaced again and looked to the side. "I wouldn't be there to _punch_ her or anything silly like that, Winter. The plan is to use my power to trip her, basically; I'd shove her arms and legs around to keep my friends from being hurt, I'd pin her in place – if I can – to let them hurt her, and I'd… I'd…" She swallowed, shook her head, and mumbled, "And if any of them get hurt, I can take them away from the fight."

"And the armor?"

"Flight. That's it, honestly."

"Good," Winter said, nodding firmly. "Then I'll lend you a hand in carrying the wounded and fatigued to safety, little sister."

"Thank you."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Now, please."

Despite her injuries, Raven had slept lightly; when she heard those two words spoken, she was instantly roused from her slumber. Still, regaining alertness was something that took time.

As she glanced down from her rooftop perch, Raven stared uncomprehendingly – until it was too late – at the pair of teenagers standing beneath her.

And then Cardin Winchester fired, the tremendously powerful shotgun – having been reclaimed by Ghira a mere four days previously – kicking mightily as it sent a spray of barely-solid pellets at the older Brute. Ruby Rose, standing beside him with a grim expression, had one hand up in an odd gesture – an exaggerated one meant to show her ally that she'd compressed the air around them, muting the weapon's blast.

Raven grunted, still waking up, as the birdshot took her in the side, a few pellets punching partway through her flesh and embedding themselves there. The few beads of frozen mercury that missed slammed into the roofing beneath her, tearing it apart with such force that the section beneath her collapsed, sending her plunging into the building.

"I thought you were aiming high?" Ruby asked, frowning, as she and Cardin hurriedly backed away.

"I thought I was, too," he said, half-grunting as he tried to figure out whether or not he'd need to rack another round into the chamber. "This is the first time I've ever even _held_ a gun before, you know."

Neither was surprised when Raven burst through the wall of the building, annoyance bright in her eyes and blood staining the side of her shirt. "I thought you might come for me," Raven said softly, staring at Ruby. "I didn't think it would be this soon, though."

Ruby's only response was to lift her hand and sling a blast of compressed air at her. The kinetic discharge rammed into her injured side with the force of a truck, but it was barely enough to make her grunt in discomfort.

"Gonna be like that, then, huh?" Raven asked quietly, closing her eyes for a moment as she shook her head. "You'll never kill me like that, girl," she said, raising her voice so the two teens could hear her more easily.

"We know. Mercury told us."

Before Raven could reply, a booted heel snapped into the side of her head from behind, knocking her from the ground and sending her skidding across the dirt into a brick wall. A flicker of anger showing in her eyes, she rose to her feet and stared at Mercury, who stood where she'd been mere seconds ago.

"Do I need to say anything?" he asked. After a moment, Raven shook her head; they'd said all they'd needed to days ago. "Then let's get the ball rolling," he said, lunging towards her in a pair of leaping strides and launching another kick at her head.

Raven raised an arm and blocked the strike, then shoved his leg to the side with as much force as she could muster; the end result was Mercury's eyes widening as he spun through the air more than a dozen times and smashed into the side of a nearby building, breaking apart the window and smacking his head against the concrete wall.

He fell to the ground limply, blood leaking from beneath his hair and trailing down his face.

Raven stared at him for a moment, focused on nothing but him, only to sigh in relief when she saw his chest rising and falling in time with his breath. Turning, she found a ready outlet for her worry as it turned into anger, and lifted her arm again to block a punch from Cardin.

This time, though, she found herself flying through the air for a few feet before she landed on her back. Only instinct honed by years of training let her roll with the fall and put her feet back under her, and she stared cautiously at her new opponent. "Goliath," she mumbled, straightening as she regarded him – and the shotgun he was leveling at her.

The world around her blurred as she shifted into her other form; then, wings spreading, she took to the air – or tried to, but found herself unable to get any lift.

Raven shifted back into her human form, growling and glaring at Ruby as the vacuum the younger woman had placed around her filled back in. "Learned that from your father?" she asked, only to blink in surprise as Ruby's uncomfortable grimace turned into a harsh scowl.

Hatred in her silver eyes, Ruby raised a hand to Raven, palm facing the older woman; with a flex of her fingers, she rent a thin line into the skin of her bandage-covered cheek, drawing a startled gasp from Raven as warm blood spilled onto the hole in her face.

"I'm going to kill you, Raven," Ruby said, barely able to raise her voice above a whisper; still, the way it shook with rage surprised Raven – and herself. "Just imagine a hundred of those inside your brain, and you'll get the picture."

Raven breathed in sharply, setting her lips in a frown – but inwardly, she was smiling. "Then let's get this over with," she said, already preparing to lunge for the younger woman.

When she leaped – mimicking Mercury's charge at her – the ground beneath her shook with the force she used to push herself into motion. She flung herself past a thoroughly startled Cardin in her rush to reach the one of the only two people left who she knew could kill her; he was still spinning on his heel, struggling to aim his shotgun at her, when she felt a force slam into her side and force her away from her target.

Whirling in midair, she shifted into her avian form – and narrowly avoided a hand-shaped glob of white light as a result. Her head moving jerkily as she searched her surroundings for a cause, she didn't see the figure until she looked up; ensconced in a full suit of plated armor made from the same glowing white material, Weiss felt secure in the knowledge that Raven would never learn who she was. Lifting a gauntleted hand towards the corvid, she conjured a three-foot-long, sword-shaped mass of light that launched itself at Raven without further gesturing, causing her to maneuver to avoid it.

'What the fuck is that?' Raven thought, darting low enough that the tips of her wings skimmed the top of a building's roof as she avoided the projectile. Not knowing what it was, she wasn't willing to risk being hit by the blade of light to see if it could hurt her; so, she let herself drop into the first building she found with a hole in its roof and reverted back to her human form, her momentum letting her crash through the wall and hit the ground outside at a sprint.

As much as Raven wanted to turn and face her death, her Contract-altered instincts forced her to retreat towards the fenced-off edge of the Harpy district. Fortunately for her, her enemies had other plans.

A chunk of stone and concrete the size of a horse slammed into her side before she could run twenty feet, knocking her to the ground and pinning her there. Bewildered, Raven looked around herself to find a tall teen with platinum blonde hair smirking at her – as well as an orange-haired teen with numerous freckles next to her, palm extended towards her head.

An instinctive fear pulsed through Raven for a moment as fire swallowed her body, one she couldn't quite help but feel no matter how many times she was set alight. Still, she had to force herself to calm down and free herself from the impromptu boulder that was pinning her – only to find that the kinetic controlling it was still pressing it down on her, hard enough that she couldn't heave it aside with only a brush of her strength.

So, with the Contract forcing her to act, she stopped holding back.

Izzy's eyes went wide as the stone she held in her grip shattered apart, all but crumbling into dust as Raven slapped two fingers against it. Cursing under her breath, she grabbed Penny's arm – drawing a startled yelp from the redhead – and started running, lifting a small radio from her pocket and barking, "Stage two, failure!" into it as she fled.

Much to Raven's surprise, an octagonal platform made of the same white light that had struck her earlier floated down and landed beside the two fleeing women. She barely got a glimpse at the white-haired teen who stood atop it before it went back up into the air, taking them away.

Grimacing, Raven turned away and shifted forms again, taking flight in the opposite direction as her Contract continued compelling her to flee. Her heart felt heavy as she caught sight of the chain-link fence marking the western edge of the Harpy district – but, then, so did the rest of her.

Beady red eyes going wide and a startled squawk leaving her beak, Raven plummeted to the ground as her entire body seemed to increase in weight dramatically. She shifted back into her human form mere seconds before she slammed into the side of a building, tearing down the already half-broken wall and hitting the concrete beneath it hard enough to knock the breath from her.

As she lifted herself back onto her feet, she realized that whatever force had driven her to the ground had ended the moment she'd shifted. 'A gravity-kinetic?' she wondered as she looked around cautiously and jogged into one of the few almost-intact buildings nearby. Darting into one that lacked a door, but little else, she thought, 'Since when did those exist? No… Maybe a telekinetic gripping my clothes?'

As Raven's mind raced to figure out exactly what manner of power she'd been hit with, she kept her eyes on the road she'd just slammed into, staring out through the boarded-up window of the house she'd taken refuge in. After a minute of waiting, she saw two people – one eminently familiar, the other only passingly so – walking along the road.

"You're sure she came through this way?" Emerald asked, frowning as she glanced at her temporary companion.

Lilith pointed a finger at the ground – a slight smile crawling onto her face at the way the slight motion made her breasts bounce and sway within her tight, low-cut top – and said, "This is where she cracked her skull to the floor, girl. She was here."

The two began to argue, bickering in an almost exaggerated fashion, but Raven had barely managed to muster the attention to identify the blonde of the pair; a section of the Contract was filling her mind, warring with the part forcing her to flee.

It took nearly a minute, but Raven finally sighed and made her way out through the door-less entryway, mumbling, "I'm sorry, Emerald," under her breath.

She cleared the distance between them in a single leap, her fist slamming into the green-haired girl's head and going clear through it – shattering the illusion in its entirety. Raven's eyes widened as she overbalanced, having expected at least a hundred pounds of weight to stop her fist. It took her two precious seconds of stumbling on a single leg to regain her balance, and those seconds cost her.

Raven's eyes widened further as a crack split the air and a lance of pain tore through her side, making her stumble again. She threw herself to the side in a barely controlled jump, narrowly avoiding another bullet as she crashed through the wall of the building she'd vacated mere seconds ago – and caught a glimpse of four people standing atop a colossal bird made of bright white light, its feathers dripping motes of the energy that formed it with every flap of its wings.

One hand clasped to her side in an attempt to slow the bleeding, Raven cursed under her breath. She kept moving through the house she'd flung herself into, not willing to stop for long enough to patch up her bullet wound. 'What happened to me?' Raven wondered as she jumped through a hole in the building's other side, shifting in mid-jump and spreading her avian form's wings the moment she saw open air. 'I used to be free. Invincible. Now a magic contract is forcing me to run from teenagers who stand a good shot at killing me, and I'm hoping they _succeed_?'

She shifted again beneath the shadows of an all-but-ruined warehouse's roof and let out a sigh as she hid herself within it, narrowly keeping out of Weiss's sight as she charged through the sky perpendicular to Raven's flight path. 'I could've been a mother,' Raven thought morosely as she scanned the darkness filling the building, hoping to find a way out of this mess. A chill swept through her despite the summer heat, and she wrapped her arms around herself tightly as thoughts swirled, darker and darker, inside her head. 'But no, I just had to try to fix a problem that we hadn't even seen yet. I… I was worse than my father, wasn't I? All he ever did was beat us, but I…'

Raven's eyes widened, and she forced herself to her feet – she hadn't even realized it when she'd slumped against the wall and slid to the floor. 'What was his name?... Lie Ren,' she recalled, a soft growl escaping her despite the depression the Telempath had tried to smother her with. She stoked that anger, turning it from a few lingering embers into a harsh flame that burned away all other feeling – until she heard a sharp cry from less than a hundred feet away.

"You shouldn't have brought the Empath with you, kid," Raven whispered to herself, letting her rage pulse through her as she abandoned her hiding spot. She leaped, shifted, and flew the short distance between them in a manner of seconds, circling above the two young men only once before she divebombed them, shifting again and cocking back her arm as she fell.

Only for a stroke of lightning to hammer into her.

Raven cried out, spasming as the electricity coursed through her, and was flung to the side by the thunderclap that followed. She hit the ground hard, rolling more than a dozen feet before she finally came to a stop. Her breath catching in her throat, she suddenly remembered the pair of redheads who had started dating the two empathically-gifted young men – and saw them approaching her, Nora bearing a wide, hateful grin and Pyrrha seeming sorrowful that it had come to this.

The two lifted their hands in near unison, and Raven felt her belt shake and shift a half-second before another bolt of yellow lightning snaked from Nora's hand to her. 'Why does it hurt so much?!' Raven screamed internally as she shrieked and shook, muscles cramping beneath the onslaught of electric might.

"I guess Weiss was right," Pyrrha mumbled, fingers shaking as she kept Raven's belt clasp firmly within her power's grasp. "Our bodies function because of electrical signals, so even a Steel Soul can't be fully immunized to electricity."

Still, Raven grit her teeth and bore it, muscles spasming out of her control. Another scream left her lips as she was electrocuted; some distant part of her mind noted the smell of burning meat, and she subconsciously realized that her skin was cooking beneath her belt's clasp as it overheated from the electrical energy being pumped into it.

Finally, after a grueling minute that gave her a new definition of Hell, Raven died. Her heart stopped beating, her mind stopped racing.

Then, she came back.

Pyrrha cried out as blue-tinted white flames exploded from the older woman's body, the thunderclap that followed knocking her – and Nora, Ren, and Jaune – more than a dozen feet away. Raven screamed again, her body contorting as the unknown power raced through her, making it feel like a hundred tiny spiders were running along _inside_ her body, fixing the bones that her seizing muscles had broken and then repairing the muscles themselves. She collapsed back to the ground a moment later, frothy saliva spilling from her mouth as she rolled onto her side and coughed between deep gasps for air.

'What…?' Raven thought, barely able to even understand _what_ had happened, much less _why_.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

" _She has made her choice, it seems."_

" _As we always knew she would."_

" _Yes. But siding with the spider, of all things… We must prepare a new site. One where our disciples can rest and train in peace, for as long as they need."_

" _This will take time."_

" _We have enough."_

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Raven spat to the side as she shakily rose to her knees, then her feet. She needed to lean heavily against the building her seizing body had made her tumble towards to stand, her arm still twitching as her palm ground into the rough, gritty wall, but she was standing – it was more than she could say for her assailants.

Pyrrha lay cradling a clearly broken arm, missing three fingers and with a large, rebar-laden chunk of concrete piercing her shoulder; Nora was only slightly better off, if you could consider being on all fours and dry-heaving while a giant gash beneath her hair bled into her eyes as "better". Jaune and Ren were mostly unharmed, but both were clearly shaken and bore a few scratches – though Jaune seemed to have twisted his ankle in the fall, if the way his shoe was pointing was any indication.

As Raven watched, Ren rose to his feet and stumbled over to Nora, putting a hand on her shoulder as he fumbled a handkerchief out of his pocket and pressed it tightly to her bleeding scalp. Jaune crawled over to Pyrrha, trembling as he could do nothing but give his girlfriend a shoulder to cry on.

Gritting her teeth and resolving to figure out what, exactly, had happened once she was safe and sound in the hideout, Raven started shuffling away from the teens who'd nearly managed to kill her. After a few steps, she found a stride that worked for her and took off at a jog, unknowingly running further into the Harpy district. A minute later, she'd realized it, but didn't let that stop her; the Contract was eerily quiet, no longer pushing her to flee to a more populated part of the city.

She didn't so much as slow down until she saw him.

Wearing a mask of stone with half a dozen eye-slits, standing on the side of a building as if gravity was affecting him differently than her, the man was a curious enough sight that he instantly made Raven wary. A bead of sweat formed on her forehead as she watched him walk down the wall, tilting his until it was pointed straight up – from his perspective – to keep her in his sight.

"You're not with them." The realization came unbidden and almost startled her with its suddenness.

"Which them? I'm certainly not with the ones who've been chasing you," the man said, his voice inscrutable in the oddest way; to Raven's ears, every word sounded like a lie, but there was an eminent trust building within her. "No, no, I'm not with them; I'm with _them_!"

"Which them?" Raven repeated. The man's ensuing laughter made her back a step away from him, holding up a shaky arm in a feeble attempt to protect herself if he made any moves she didn't like.

"Good one! Good one!" He laughed again, then seemed to calm down a little, though she could somehow tell he was still grinning behind the mask. "We have a mutual interest here, I think," he said, glancing back at the way she'd come.

Raven looked as well, only to flinch and stare at the sight of a _grenade_ tumbling through the air in slow motion. A woman she half-recognized as being part of the Candle's operations seemed to have thrown it, the grenade's pin still on her finger as she turned slowly, already moving to run from Raven.

"Yes, a mutual interest indeed," the man said as Raven kept staring, her recently revived mind unable to effectively process just what she was seeing. "You see, my employer doesn't think you want to die – not _really_ , anyway; you just think it's a better option than any other you have available, partially because you aren't allowed to. You fresh-blood are all like that, really. Oh-so rebellious. But, but! That's not what you really want, is it? You want to live! You just want to not be in pain while you do it! Am I right?"

Raven grit her teeth together, eyes shut tightly. "Yes," she croaked out after a moment, opening her eyes and trying to ignore the pain that welled from the cut on her cheek as a tear slid into it. As she spoke, though, she wasn't sure if she was lying or not.

"Then, let's make a deal, shall we?" the man asked, pulling out a slender glass bottle full of viscous black fluid. As Raven watched, it sloshed constantly, seemingly torn between obeying gravity and subjecting itself to the way it was affecting the man. "You don't even have to drink it! Just pour it over your hands. Let it soak into your skin!"

Raven opened her mouth to accept, only for a lifetime's worth of memories to flash through her. She blinked, swallowed, and instead said, "What will this cost me?"

"Do not worry, inheritor of Light. All you need to do is save the world!"

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Ruby watched from above as the grenade exploded, enshrouding Raven in the smoke and dust the bomb kicked up. "That'll do nothing," she mumbled to herself, frowning worriedly as she watched the cloud start to settle, revealing Raven still standing.

It wasn't until the dust had fallen back to the ground that Ruby realized what was wrong.

Raven stood unfazed, seemingly unaffected by the various harms she'd taken in the last few minutes. No, Ruby realized, eyes widening – Raven had been _healed_. As Ruby watched, Raven reached up and tore the bandage from her ruined cheek, revealing healthy and unblemished skin beneath.

Then, Raven grasped the air itself and tore a sword from it in a flash of red light; long and slender, slightly curved and dyed red, the otherwise unadorned katana seemed to suit her on a spiritual level. Ruby watched through ever-widening eyes as Raven spun it around in her hand, testing its weight, somehow seeming to be an adept in its use despite none of the stories Ruby had heard saying she'd ever handled a blade.

Seeing it made Ruby's head ache, and she placed a hand to her temple as she watched Raven turn and walk away – casually, as if she wasn't being hunted by more than a dozen powered people intent on killing her. An image overlaid the older woman's form in Ruby's eyes, one wearing a red sash around her chest, red vambraces on her forearms, and wearing a fearsome mask made of something that looked more like bone than porcelain.

In that instant, for reasons she didn't quite understand, she realized what Raven really was.

A coward.

Ruby let out a breath as she watched Raven walk away, feeling her headache leave her as she took another – only to be replaced by rage.

"Raven!" Her name tore itself from Ruby's lips, screamed without her knowledge or intent. The older woman glanced up at her, seemingly startled despite the coolness in her red eyes. Lifting a hand, Ruby let out a wordless cry and brought to bear as much of her power as she could stand.

Raven's eyes widened as she felt herself be picked up from the ground – and saw some of the rubble surrounding her do the same. Within seconds, she found herself in a vortex powerful to tear apart the buildings surrounding her, a tornado in miniature; grimacing, she did her best to maneuver herself to its edges, putting what she knew of manipulating wind currents in her avian form to use.

Ruby, meanwhile, was staring slack-jawed at what she had done. "H… How…?" she mumbled, swallowing as she lowered her hand – and the vortex maintained its form.

" _The spider has acted, child,"_ a voice said in her mind, making her flinch and look in every direction she could, trying to find its source. _"That means I can act in return."_

"W-What?"

" _We are not yet at the precipice. Right now, the spider's powers are limited in scope, but he intends to use powers existent to wipe my cause from the world. Your Hated is among those he uses. Strike, child; at this time, I cannot act beyond balancing the scales, and my ability to do so is limited. Or will you allow him to take your prey from you?"_

Ruby, who'd been breathing sharply for nearly the entire "conversation", such as it had been, inhaled sharply at that question and narrowed her eyes as she saw Raven slip free from the twister's grasp. "I don't need your help to take her down, no matter what you are," Ruby growled under her breath as she darted through it after her, easily slipping between chunks of wood and concrete in her pursuit.

" _You cannot manage this alone, child."_

"What makes you think I am?" Ruby asked, pulling a handheld radio from her pocket. Stilling the wind around her, she lifted it to her lips and said, "Be advised: Raven has exhibited the use of a Devil Arm and an unusually hostile Phoenix Kindling. Over."

" _Got it! Ooh, I think I see her! Over and out!"_ came the reply.

" _Roger that. Heading over to support, over,"_ said another.

" _So, you'll simply wait while your allies break themselves against her over and over?"_ the voice came back, making her flinch. _"Make her waste her energy on them so you can make the killing blow while she's too tired to defend herself?"_

"I wish it wasn't, but I'm not about to rely on the voice in my head for help," Ruby replied. "I'll just have to trust my friends."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

When Raven finally hit the ground, she took off at a dead sprint away from the twister, her legs moving so quickly they nearly blurred like an Assassin's. Her Contract screamed at her to flee, to survive, but there was no immediate way for her to appease it.

So, she ran, taking turns almost at random as she dashed past the old husks of buildings and unfinished masonry.

Until something tripped her.

Reacting on instinct, Raven tucked into a roll as she fell, tumbling end over end more than a dozen times before she finally came to a stop. As she rose to her feet, she looked to see what had tripped her, only to raise an eyebrow at the grinning blonde-haired Faunus.

"'Sup?" Sun Wukong asked, idly twirling one of the pairs of golden nunchaku he held. "I hear you're a royal bitch."

Raven's eye twitched, her mind struggling to come up with a response to the outright blatant _arrogance_ being displayed. Ultimately, she didn't; her Contract compelled her to leave before he could show her if he knew how to use his weapons.

She turned, only to catch him throwing one of the paired weapons out of the corner of her eye and leaned to the side, only for the nunchaku to curve in midflight and slam into her chest – hard enough that she could feel it.

Raven coughed as the breath was driven from her lungs and she was flung to the side, tumbling across the ground again before she managed to get her feet back under her. Rising, her sword held out in front of her in a guarding stance she somehow settled into instinctively, she glared at Sun and demanded, "What was that?"

"What? You don't know what a Devil Arm is?" Sun asked, catching his weapon as it returned to him and starting to twirl it again. "Because I _know_ you know what an aerokinetic is. Oh, hey, Felicia!"

Before Raven could react, a boot plated in metal slammed into the side of her head and sent her flying through the side of a building, bringing the wall crashing down behind her. On the other side, before the shattered remnants of the wall had a chance to settle, a gauntleted fist repeated the move, sending her right back through it and drawing a pained gasp from Raven as she collided back-first with a broken statue.

Felicia, as it turned out, was a stern-faced woman with bright blue hair and spiteful chestnut eyes, both streaked with grey. She wore a partially opened blouse and a pair of knee-length shorts, as well as gauntlets and greaves made of a white metal that Raven couldn't quite place.

"Felicia?" Raven mumbled as she returned to her feet – again – and tried to place the name. After a moment, it clicked. "Felicia Diveress?"

"Took you long enough," she growled out, cracking her neck side to side.

"You're… You were his first secretary, right?"

"And you took him from me, from all of us," Felicia spat, fists clenched so tightly that the metal of her gauntlets whined in protest. "And now you'll pay for it."

Without another word, she flung herself towards the Goliath in a single mighty leap, hammering a punch into her hastily raised guard. A flash of white light burst from her gauntlet at the moment of contact, causing Raven to be thrown backwards.

This time, though, she could see a shadowy copy of Felicia split off of her and mimic the action she'd just taken, lunging in again and delivering the same punch a second time, all within the span of a single second.

The dual impacts compounded on each other, sending Raven through three separate buildings and a chain-link fence before she tumbled onto the ground, rolling harshly enough that she could feel it scraping her skin despite her Steel Soul and made her drop the sword she'd gained only minutes ago. She slammed roughly against another wall, one that had been badly damaged in the quake weeks ago.

As it collapsed onto her, Raven realized that she'd made it outside the Harpy district – but that didn't stop her newest opponents.

Raven shoved off as much of the rubble as she could and pulled herself out of what was left as she watched Sun take to the skies, spinning one of his pairs of nunchaku in a lazy circle. As he fell back down, Raven was startled – a sensation she was starting to get annoyed by – to realize that he didn't seem to be flying the way Taiyang had; it seemed more like he'd fired himself into the air and was now increasing his wind resistance to slow his descent. It was a good thing she kept her eyes on him, though; as she watched, he threw his nunchaku at her, using his ability to make it curve like a boomerang as it soared toward her.

Embracing the foreign reflexes that had come with it, Raven summoned her sword to her side and slapped the weapon out of the air; the nunchaku disappeared in a flash of light a moment later, reappearing in Sun's hand in the same way Raven's blade had in hers. As Felicia vaulted over the chain-link fence and Ruby flew into her view, Raven let out a soft laugh – one that only grew louder when she saw that bird made of light flying hundreds of feet away.

"What's so funny?" Felicia asked, cracking her knuckles threateningly.

"We're outside the Harpy district," Raven said, pointing at the chain-link fence that surrounded it. "If we continue this fight out here, normal people will see it and every little secret Yharnum has will be exposed to the world. Are you really willing to risk this city's security for revenge?"

"I don't think you understand what it's like here in Yharnum, Raven," Ruby said, folding her arms over her chest as she landed. "This city has its secrets and, yes, it's one of the only places in the world where powered people can rest easy. But that's the thing, Raven: here, we're a community. And in this day and age, people can pass information around as easily as pulling out our phones and sending out mass emails," Ruby explained, pulling her phone out of her pocket, as if to demonstrate. "Why do you think I waited so long? After all, if I'd have gone after you right away, I'd have found you damn near comatose, unable to fight back. Sure, I didn't know where you were, but odds are I could've found you if I'd tried hard enough. Still, I didn't even try looking. Do you know why?"

"No," Raven admitted, frowning deeply at the monologue, given by the person she least expected one from.

"I needed to speak to my city. I needed to learn whether or not we were ready, as a community, to face the world," Ruby said, making Raven's eyes widen. "I see you've figured it out."

"There's probably a lot of folk like us who don't know about this city," Sun said, giving Raven a wide grin as she turned her eyes to him. "Hell, I didn't until I bumped into someone backpacking through Vacuo! Just imagine how many people are hiding their powers, completely in the dark that havens like Yharnum exist!"

"Long story short, the mayor knows what we're doing," Ruby announced, drawing Raven's gaze back to her. "He's planning on giving an official press briefing tomorrow, telling the world about all of us, and we're going to back him."

"But there's no place for shit like you in our home, Branwen," Felicia spat.

"Which is why we're going to kill you today," Ruby continued. "The last cover-up in Yharnum. And it all starts with this."

Before Raven could reply, she felt a fist slam into her back – knocking her more than a dozen feet forward. She shifted to her avian form and spun around before any of the opponents before her could take advantage of her, only for her beady eyes to widen as she saw the one person she hadn't expected to face.

Yang Xiao Long grit her teeth and took flight after her, making a slashing motion with the side of her hand and sending a sweeping curtain of condensed air at her mother. The air disrupted Raven's flight, sending her to the ground more effectively than any of Taiyang's or Ruby's vacuums ever had; she shifted before she could hit the ground, rolled to shed some of her impact's momentum, and whirled to face her daughter as she followed suit and landed mere feet away, slinging a heavy punch at her mother.

Raven dodged it without much difficulty, even as off-balance as she was, but she clenched her jaw when she was forced to avoid another; much to Raven's surprise, Yang hadn't committed to the punch.

"Since when did you know how to fight?" Raven asked, the sentence leaving her in a series of breathy rushes as she was forced to continue dodging.

Yang didn't answer; she just got angry. Lips parting as she let out a huff of effort, the blonde threw a gust of wind ahead of her next punch, knocking her mother off-balance again and letting her score a solid uppercut to her gut.

Raven felt the air leave her lungs as the blow flung her upwards, sending her twenty feet skyward.

Only to feel another punch – even harder than the first – collide with her back and keep her moving up as Yang followed, leaping after her and striking her again.

Then, above her, Raven saw a gauntleted fist descending towards her. It collided with her chin as Yang hammered another punch into her back, making her spin in mid-air and filling her vision with dancing lights – and making something _give_ inside her.

" _Ah, what a shame,"_ Raven heard a voice echo inside her mind as she fell. _"If not for your daughter's surprise attack, you could have succeeded in our task."_

" _No, spider,"_ said another. _"I have yet to right the balance you tilted by giving her an Arm. This was too much for her."_

Before Raven could realize she was laying on her back in the middle of a street, she felt her daughter straddle her hips and pin her arms to her sides – though, oddly, she realized that she couldn't feel her legs. Then, she felt a pair of hands grasp her head, palms on her ears.

She glanced up, meeting Ruby's silver eyes with her crimson.

"Please: do it."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

And that's that.

Stay tuned for next time, folks. It'll be the last chapter of this Part and the determiner of whether or not this story goes on a long-term hiatus.


	14. Chapter 14

This one came out a lot faster than I thought it would. Like, holy shit. Maybe I'm just not all that into fight scenes? I thought I was, but… eh, whatever. Let's keep this rolling!

 **XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

"Holy Mother," Pyrrha mumbled, voice tight and high-pitched from the lingering pain, as she stared at her shaking hand – and the freshly regrown fingers that had sprouted from it. She let out a breath, startled at how sensitive they felt, when Jaune reached over and gently grasped her hand. "This is…"

"I know," Blake said, smiling comfortingly at the redhead. "It's a lot to take in. As far as I can tell, the blood we found in this cavern _doesn't_ heal wounds," she began to explain, thoroughly confusing the few people she'd brought with her. "It removes negative traits."

"Considering it just grew back her fingers, I think you're a bit wrong about that," Nora said, letting out a laugh when Ren put his hand on her shoulder and exercised his power on her, much to Jaune's relief.

"Well, true. It can be used to recover from injuries, even grievous ones," Blake said, rolling her eyes when Nora giggled. "But I don't think I'm wrong when I saw that's not its actual purpose. It regrows body parts – as you've seen here today – but it also cured me of a nearly untreatable auto-immune disease, and removed a foreign object from another person's body, one which had been present for a decade and a half. It even corrected Ruby's metabolic enhancements, meaning she doesn't need an utterly absurd amount of food unless she's fighting off an injury or illness.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Blake continued dramatically, gesturing at the trough of blood, "Yharnum has a miracle cure." Nora clapped immediately and enthusiastically, prompting another eye roll from Blake. "So, how was that?" Blake asked, stepping down from the small bucket she'd brought down the stone staircase with her.

"It could use some work," Ren said, "but it has potential. You'll probably want to prepare a version that doesn't presume one of the reporters who comes down here will be suffering from something."

"The ending was pretty lame, too," Pyrrha said, blushing when Blake raised an eyebrow at her. "S-sorry. I know you just…" She trailed off, squeezing Jaune's hand for emphasis. "But… calling it a miracle cure just seems… not good?"

"We'll have a hard time proving that it does what you're saying it does, too," Ren said, frowning as he looked at the trough again. "The mayor's planning on using the existence of Menders as one of the focal points in his address tomorrow. Letting people know that supernatural sources of healing exist will advance medicine a bit, sure, but normal people won't know the limitations. Hell, I'm not sure _I_ know all the limits of Mending. Adding this on top of it will just confuse the two in the public eye; it might even result in people thinking that all powers are… demonic, or something," he added, gesturing to the shrine ensconcing the trough of blood.

"Should we put it off, then?" Blake asked. "I can still get Dad to talk to the mayor out of including the Blood in the address."

"That might be for the best," Jaune said. "Still, though, it's pretty cool."

"That's all you can say?" Pyrrha asked, laughing as her boyfriend sighed.

"Well, what else can I say? 'Thanks, Blake, for giving us this weird miracle blood that regrew my girlfriend's fingers?'" Jaune asked, only half-sarcastic. Seeing the way Nora seemed to brighten and straighten, he added, "Nora, no jokes, please."

"Aw!" the shorter redhead whined, immediately pouting. "I was just gonna ask why you're so desperate for her to get those fingers back. Something fun you were planning on doing later?" she asked with a broad grin, making Pyrrha scowl at her.

"No, I use my other hand for that," Pyrrha said, expression changing to a contented smile as Jaune groaned and palmed his face.

"Well, if we're done here, we should probably get back topside," Blake said, gesturing to the way out. "Thanks for letting me practice that speech on you."

"That was a bit too short to call it a speech," Ren pointed out.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Mercury groaned as he woke up, keeping his eyes clenched tightly shut in a futile effort to still the throbbing in his head and neck. He felt something cold pressed against the side of his head, and a voice danced against his ear as he shifted his legs, trying to figure out where he was without opening his eyes.

"… -cury, stop it already!"

Mercury stilled, giving Emerald a shaky thumbs-up. Once she sighed above him, he croaked out the word, "Where?"

"The safehouse the Belladonnas put together for us. Remember?"

Mercury grunted. He did remember – it wasn't the biggest place he'd ever lived, to put it lightly. There was only a single bedroom, which he'd conceded to Emerald, which left him on the couch in the eight-by-twelve living room – where, he realized, he was laying right then. "Right," he said, grimacing at the rasp in his voice.

"I've got some water here, Mercury. It's got a straw and everything, but you need to sit up before you can drink it."

He groaned, opening his eyes to narrow slits in order to glare at his green-haired roommate. She met it with a cocky smile, drawing another groan from him as he tried to sit up – only for a wave of nausea to force him back down.

"Take it slow, Merc," Emerald said gently, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Winter checked you over on the way here. She doesn't think you have a concussion, but she said that I should treat you like you have one anyway, just in case."

"Great," he grunted, rising much more slowly this time. With Emerald's help, he turned and lounged against the couch's back; a few sips of water later, he asked, "How'd it go?"

"We won. Well, you guys won, I guess; all I did was sit in a car at the wrong side of the Harpy district," she complained, producing a chuckle from her partner. "I still can't believe they managed to hide another illusionist from me, though. I've never met someone like me before."

"How'd that go?"

"It didn't. I didn't get to meet him yet!" she continued to complain, drawing another laugh from him. "He knows what I look like, though. Apparently, he used me in the illusion he drew Raven out of hiding with. I feel kinda dirty, to be honest."

"Now you know how I felt that time I walked in on you playing with an image of me," he said, making her blush brightly.

"Look, you know I… wasn't well back then," Emerald said, the heat draining from her voice midway through her sentence. She shifted timidly as Mercury drank some more water, then asked, "Am I really better? I mean, we modified my subconscious mind to a state that it shouldn't technically be in, Mercury. Is that… you know, permanent?"

"If it's not, I'm suing for a refund," he said, prompting a self-conscious giggle from her. "Seriously, though, Emerald, you're only as good as you feel. If you think you're starting to backslide into that… crazed bitch you were before," he chose after a moment, smirking as she scowled at him, "then we'll just give you another good dose of hypnotism. Or maybe some actual therapy, if things've calmed down enough by then."

Emerald bit her lip, then sighed and shook her head as she let Mercury drink a bit more water. "I don't like using you like this, Mercury," she admitted a few moments later. "I feel like I'm that Valkyrie girl, latching onto some Telempath to keep my emotions under control. You…"

"Don't think of it like that, Em," he said, pointedly giving her a nickname to draw her attention back to him. "You're not just some basket case I've decided to work on out of the kindness of my heart. You're my friend, first and foremost, and I don't want to lose that."

"Merc…" Emerald said, only to pause when he chuckled.

"And I don't think that's how it is with the two of them, either," Mercury added, making her roll her eyes.

"You know, if you'd just shut your mouth for a moment, I would've tried to ask you out," she said, making him chuckle again.

"Good thing I can't help myself, then. You still want something long-term, right? Well, I don't…" he began, only to trail off, eyes widening.

"Mercury? What is it?"

"I… Dead gods below," he mumbled, shaking his head slowly – only to gag as nausea pulsed through him again. "Do I…"

"Mercury? You're kinda scaring me a little. Also, uh… you're crying a bit, too," she added, reaching up to wipe one of the tears leaking from his eyes.

"I… I thought I didn't…" Mercury said, shaking his head again as his mind raced to process the storm of thoughts and emotions surging within him. "Dead gods below, I think I do want something long-term."

"What?" Emerald asked, straightening. "But… Mercury, you… Oh, I think I get it. You didn't want something like that back while you were stuck working for the Family."

"Huh?... I… I think you're right," he said, swallowing as he realized she was right. "I… Emerald, I'm sorry, but…"

"Let me guess: you still don't want to ruin our friendship by getting into it with me, right?" she asked. A moment later, she giggled at his lack of response. "Yeah, I thought as much. Still, if we wind up dating sisters or something, you want to try swinging sometime?"

Mercury's brain essentially stopped working at that point. He slowly tilted his head to the side, staring at her all the while, until he finally asked, "What?"

"It'd let us get a chance to try some things together while also watching some super-hot ladies go at each other, you know? And it'd be _extra_ -hot, since they'd be sisters and all, you know?"

"… Did I accidentally make you some sort of super-perv with that hypnosis shit?"

"Uh…" Emerald said, blushing hotly as she trailed off with a giggle. "No, not really."

"Okay. Well, uh… I'll get back to you on that. In a few years. Maybe."

"Yeah, I should've expected that."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"I still wish we didn't have to leave that to you," Ghira said, biting back a growl and letting out a sigh instead.

"We had everyone we needed, Uncle Ghira," Ruby said. She pointedly kept her eyes on him, or Yang, who was seated beside her – not for the sake of intimidating or chastising him, though; she didn't want to find herself staring at her hands again, seeing the red stains that still marked them after what she'd done. "No one died but… but her. And Blake's helping the few people who were injured."

Ghira did growl at that, only to flinch and shake his head. "Sorry. I don't like the thought of relying on ancient blood found half a mile beneath your high school to fix people, especially not people who shouldn't have been hurt to begin with. We should have been able to handle her ourselves, not rely on children to deal with her for us." He sighed again. "No use dwelling on it, though. How are you handling it, by the way? K-… Doing what needed to be done?"

"I'm…" Ruby began, then paused and cleared her throat when she realized her voice was trembling. "I'm handling it."

"Ruby," Ghira began, only to trail off at the possessive glance Yang gave him. As the blonde wrapped a protective arm around Ruby's shoulders, Ghira sighed and turned his head to the ceiling. "I'm dwelling on it," he announced after a moment, pulling a faint giggle from his goddaughter and her sister.

"Stop worrying them," Kali said, bearing a tray laden with an excess of baked goods – cinnamon buns, three different types of cookies, and slices of cake and pie alike – as well as a few drinks for everyone. Setting it down on the coffee table near the couch Ruby and Yang were seated on, she said, "Just rest, you two. You've done enough good for the city for the time being."

"No, we haven't," Ruby mumbled, balling her hands into fists. "Raven didn't come to the city alone. She was brought here, against her will, by someone who wanted to use her as a weapon. The only thing we can do is fight back."

"Ruby!" Kali exclaimed, eyes widening with fear and worry.

"Don't worry, Auntie: we're not going after her," Ruby said, fingers trembling as she reached out and picked up one of the cookies, only to whimper and set it back down when she caught sight of the blood still staining her hands. Yang clung tighter to her as she continued, saying, "Raven was… She was an artillery strike, meant to cause pain and confusion for as long as possible. This one, though… her boss… she's a knife. Former spec. ops., dishonorably discharged for something classified hard enough that _Roman Torchwick_ can't get even the slightest hint of it. She's a different kind of dangerous – not as unbeatable in a one-on-one fight as Raven, but… what we did to take her out won't work on her."

"What do you mean?" Ghira asked, frowning deeply at the way his goddaughter was acting.

"She's geokinetic," Ruby said after a moment, letting out a sigh. "She draws nearly as much of her element as we aerokinetic's do, so she doesn't have to worry about burning her whole reserve in one shot – or keeping something up at all times."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

The air cracked as a rifle fired, drawing a deep sigh from Cinder Fall. Roman Torchwick raised an eyebrow at her, his hands clasped together thoughtfully over his desk as he watched the inch of shifting sand that had risen before her face and slowed the bullet to a stop. "A passive defense, hmm?" Roman asked, drawing a halfhearted scowl from her. He glanced down at the floor distastefully and scowled at the hole in the concrete between them – which hadn't been there before she'd been shot at – as he asked, "Why sand?"

"I have my hobbies," Cinder said cryptically, using her power to hide a blush when the remark only drew a laugh from the crime lord. "But you didn't _really_ think that would kill me, did you?"

"I hope you're not _too_ offended, Ms. Fall," Roman said, smiling warmly at her. "It was a good opportunity, and I had to make use of it. People say there's honor among thieves, but all we really do is give our allies and enemies alike a smile while we wait to stab them in the back."

"It's how we survive."

"It doesn't need to be this way, you know. You can leave your master behind and live a normal life in Yharnum. Well, as normal as the rest of us, anyway," Roman added with a laugh. "She'll never take Yharnum, especially not after tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"I'm going to actively refuse to explain my cryptic statement, thank you very much."

"Hmm."

"So?"

"The answer is no, Candle. I'm not turning against Salem."

"Ah, I was afraid you'd say that," Roman said, letting out a sigh. He pressed a button hidden beneath his desk as he added, "Still, I did prepare for it."

Another crack broke the air, and Cinder flinched at the sudden swell of sand – half a foot thick – that appeared beside her cheek to catch the bullet. "This is the same caliber," she murmured after a brief moment spent examining the round, turning to look out through the warehouse's roof, which had fallen apart in the quake. "You'd bring your niece in on this?"

"You think she's the only other Ferring in the city? Ms. Fall, I'm disappointed in you. There's at _least_ five of us."

Cinder's eyes widened as more sand shot up around her, stopping another three bullets before they could reach her; her stomach sank as anger boiled in her blood at the sight of the foot-thick orbs of grit surrounding her, certain that she would have died if not for her training. Still, forcing herself to act calm, she sighed and said, "Why were these ones suppressed?"

Roman smiled and leaned back in his seat, saying, "There's a limit to the range of our powers. Those first two came from someone further away; the other three are much closer."

"Why would you tell me this?"

"You believe me? You know how good of a liar I am, right?" he replied, smile widening into a full-blown grin as she sighed again. "Now, get out of my office. You're getting sand everywhere and I need to get someone to fill these holes you keep making."

Cinder scoffed, spun on her heel and left, only to flinch as another bullet came dangerously close to her head. "Can you get them to stop that?" she asked, still heading out.

"Why would I do that?"

Cinder just grunted and kept walking, doing her best to ignore the sand undulating around her as it protected her from another half a dozen bullets. Truth be told, it was grating on her nerves, especially given the way the layout of the Gorgon district – interspersed with stone and concrete the quake had shifted – helped muffle and displace the already suppressed discharges. "Could've killed him," she murmured to herself a minute later, letting herself smile now that the snipers had finally stopped shooting at her. "But I suppose I didn't need to," she added, taking out her earring and smiling down into the miniscule lens of the secret camera.

She tucked it into the pocket of her purse, a red silk pouch less than twice the size of a typical wallet with straps lined with gold leaf to match the yellow trim of her dress. Then, she pulled out the mic-pack she'd hidden in her cleavage – only to stare at it, her anger returning, as the LED in its side didn't flash when she pressed the button beside it.

"An EMP? No, I would've felt the… pulse…" Cinder mumbled, turning to look back the way she'd came. "No, that was too precise for that. It would have to be… her."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"Hey, uh, it's me again," Yang said, half-mumbling as she stared down at the gravestone before her. "I know I was here only a couple weeks ago, but… I'm here anyway. For… For my mom."

She glanced away, rubbing a hand along her arm – despite the long sleeves of her black coat, the dress she wore beneath it felt thin enough to seem cold despite the oppressive summer heat. She looked over at where her sister still stood dozens of feet away, staring down at the graves of her parents as their uncle, Qrow, laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"She took her from us, you know," Yang said, turning her eyes back to the grave she stood at. "Raven, I mean. She… She stole my mom, Summer, from me and my sister. The way she stole you from your parents. And it… It hurts just as much as it did when she took Dad from us.

"But… At least something good came of it," Yang said, ignoring the way her voice croaked. "Mom's… Mom's death made us get our acts together. In a couple hours, the mayor's going to hold a press conference about people like us, telling the whole world about how powered people exist. And… And there's more. We took her down. Ruby, Blake, me, and a whole bunch of other people. Raven's not going to hurt anyone else ever again.

"There's something weird about it, though," she continued after a moment, turning her gaze to the sky. "She… She could've stopped me. I _know_ she could've. She was the better fighter, she was tough enough that she could've taken a hit to give one back; she had a damn sword, of all things! So… So why didn't she…" She trailed off and shook her head, letting her eyes fall back to the grave. "She could've stopped me. Did… Did she just _want_ to die, or something? Or… Or did she just not want to hurt _me_?"

Yang sniffled, wiping up the few tears that dripped from her eyes with the sleeve of her coat. "We got her, but… It still hurts. They're not coming back, after all. Not Mom, not Dad. Not you. But this was never about that…"

She trailed off, wiping her eyes again as she sobbed. "I wonder what things would've been like if…" she mumbled a few moments later. "If… I don't know. I wouldn't give up Ruby for the world, and I don't want to know what not having Summer as my mom would've been like, but… I don't know. I wish things didn't happen like… like _this_."

She did clear her throat after that, more to clear her mind than anything. "Say, if… if you see Summer up there… could you help her find Dad? If she needs help, I mean?" A sobbing laugh escaped her, and she wrapped her arms around herself as she said, "I don't know why I'm asking that. Sorry."

Finally, she sighed and shook her head, then looked down at the gravestone with a fragile smile. "I don't know if I'll come back to visit you again. I… If I come back, it'll be for Mom and Dad, and… I don't want to come to you after I've been crying. So, uh… Sorry, but I think this is goodbye. At least we got the bitch who got you, though, huh?" She chuckled through another sob and shook her head again. "Anyway, I'm… I need to get back to Ruby. It's… I don't know. I think she was repressing this all or something; it's hitting her hard now. So… Goodbye, Coco Adel. Wherever you are, I hope you've managed to find peace."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"So, uh… What'll this mean for us?" Whitley asked, grimacing at the look Weiss threw his way. The two of them sat in the Rose-Xiao Long household's living room, watching as the mayor's press conference devolved into a series of back-and-forths with a single reporter who seemed unable to believe the display of telekinesis that Detective Ramirez was giving them. "I mean, we don't live here, Weiss, but Winter does, so… What'll happen?"

Weiss frowned, shaking her head as she said, "I don't know. I mean… Father wants us on a plane to Atlas tomorrow, but… I don't know."

"Don't worry," Winter said, startling her younger siblings with her sudden reappearance. She set down the bowls of soup and the sleeve of crackers she'd carried in as she continued, saying, "No matter what happens and no matter how far apart we wind up, we're still family. We'll still have everything we learned here to help us deal with our powers."

"Yeah. I feel kind of bad for Penny, though," Whitley said, glancing after Winter as she returned to the kitchen. "She's going to need to go through the same sorts of things we are and she's gonna be… pretty much all alone for it, isn't she?"

"I doubt it," Winter said, returning with a third bowl of soup. She set it down and then sat down beside them, pulling the bowl into her lap as she continued. "Her father is much more amenable to the words of another than ours is, so he would likely allow Miss Polendina to go to the same school as you, Whitley. Assuming Father doesn't put you in an all-boys school, that is," she added after a moment, dashing away what little relief she'd given her brother.

"You should've stopped a sentence earlier, Winter," Weiss said as her sister blew on a spoonful of soup.

"Should I have? My apologies."

"There's also… one other thing," Weiss said, reaching for a bowl of soup – with hands that didn't shake, Winter noticed, despite her younger sister's issues with anxiety. "You're going to stay here, right?"

"Yes. I felt that was somewhat obvious."

"Then… Will you be revealing your – _our_ – powers?"

Winter hummed softly, idly stirring her soup as she mulled it over. "I hadn't considered that. If I don't reveal my powers, I will further solidify my status as the 'black sheep' of the fam-… is that a racist phrase?" she asked, interrupting herself.

"I don't think any of us can say for certain," Whitley said half-jokingly, trying to lighten the mood.

"Hmm. Anyway, my staying here without revealing my powers would result in Father attempting to further distance me from the rest of our family. I wouldn't necessarily blame him for such a thing, either, given how much negative publicity the SDC is already dealing with."

"I would," Weiss muttered darkly as she crushed a cracker in her hand and scattered the crumbs into her soup.

" _Anyway_ ," Winter continued, "that's the most likely scenario for not revealing my powers. If I _do_ reveal them… I believe the most likely scenario would be Mother revealing her own powers and permanently moving herself and the two of you to Yharnum."

Weiss was so startled that she nearly dropped her bowl of soup onto the floor. She and her brother stared wide-eyed at Winter until he finally asked, "Do… Do you really think that?"

"I believe it to be the most likely scenario, yes," Winter repeated, stirring her soup again. "Whether or not it would happen like that is something that remains to be seen, but it seems more plausible than any of the others I was able to think of."

"Then…" Whitley began, only to trial off. Shaking his head, he said, "That's… Wouldn't that be one of the best-case scenarios?"

"Technically, no," Winter said. "The best-case scenario is for powered people like ourselves to be accepted by the entire world in a single day. Judging by what we see here, though," she added, gesturing to the TV still showing the mayor's press conference, "I think that unlikely."

"Still… Mother bringing us all back together would be… Amazing," Weiss mumbled, feeling her cheeks heat. "She'd probably wind up divorcing Father, too, and…" she continued, only to trail off, straightening in her seat as her face paled. "And Father would likely use his connections to get full custody of Whitley."

"Since when has Father had friends in the courts?" Winter asked with a frown.

"About a year or so after you left," Weiss said. "He… made the effort."

"Ah. Well, then, that changes… Actually, no, it doesn't."

"Huh? How?" Whitley asked.

"If it comes down to it, Whitley, simply show that you have powers as well," Winter suggested, making her brother stiffen. "I know that the idea seems anathematic to how we've done things in the past, but for Father to contest the idea that a powered person can be a suitable parental figure –"

" _That's_ where we're going with this?" Weiss mumbled, quietly enough that Winter didn't pause her explanation.

"– he'd have to deride the existence of all powered people. So, if his own son were to publicly reveal his powers after such proceedings began…" Winter trailed off, chuckling at the thought of it.

"Then Father would have accidentally shown that he wouldn't be a suitable father to someone with powers," Weiss finished for her, a small smile tilting her lips. "That… That could work."

"If such a thing comes to pass, at least you'll be prepared."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"You know, if your information regarding Branwen hadn't been credible, I wouldn't be even entertaining this right now," Roman said, steepling his fingers before him as he stared at the grey-haired teen before him. "This wasn't in your letter to Ms. Xiao Long, though. Why should I believe you?"

"I'm not asking for faith without evidence, sir," Mercury said, pulling a small drive from his pocket. "The last time we had an all-hands meeting, I had a camera running. This was after the quake, meaning after I gave Yang the letter, but…" He paused, letting out a sigh as he offered it to Roman. "Just… Just watch it."

"And why would I believe a video when I know, from your own words, that your closest ally is an illusionist?" Roman asked. He still took the thumb drive, but his question was enough to make Mercury grimace.

"Because she's trying to be a better person. She's trying so hard, in fact, that she's been having me hypnotize her into being better," Mercury admitted, sighing again when Roman's eyebrow went up. "Yeah, I know… You know who my dad is, right? Her foster father?"

"Mr. Black is rather infamous in our line of work," Roman said, his voice level and devoid of emotion.

"Would it surprise you to learn that a hitter makes for a shitty parent?" Mercury asked, drawing a grunt from him. "Would it surprise you to learn that the Family likes to brainwash young kids into being new members, and that their version of 'brainwashing' sometimes includes raping and torturing little girls until they happily go along with anything their 'master' tells them to do?"

Roman's eyes darkened, though – Mercury noted with relief – it wasn't directed at the youth in front of him. "And you've been countering this with hypnotism? At her insistence?"

"Yes. We… We got into a couple of big fights over the last couple years. Since we were raised together, since we tried to protect each other when we were little, she… I don't even _know_ how she sees me, to be honest," he admitted, only now sitting down in the simple plastic chair in front of Roman's desk. "All I know is that she somehow started thinking my morals were better than hers, and she wanted to fix that. So, yeah, the hypnosis was her idea. I don't think it would've worked all that well if it hadn't been."

"Interesting. I'm sorry to say that doesn't _quite_ make me believe you, though," Roman said, drawing a slight nod from Mercury. "However, due to your role in facilitating Raven's demise, I'm willing to at least watch the video."

"Thank you."

"If this isn't enough for me, however, I'll have Velvet kill you herself."

"I… Okay. I can accept that. Just… If you do, just… Don't go after Emerald right away. Watch what happens, instead."

"Heh. We'll…" Roman began, only to pause as his phone rang in his pocket. "Out," he ordered.

"Just… Just think about it, okay?" Mercury asked as he left the partitioned space Roman used as his office.

Once he was gone, Roman answered his phone, saying, "Yes?"

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"I knew I shouldn't have done that job for you," Pyrrha hissed into her phone as loudly as she dared. She'd wedged herself into a narrow alley, then clambered over a dumpster and up onto the roof of an ice cream shop.

" _Ms. Nikos? What's wrong?"_

" _She's_ hunting me!" Pyrrha said, only to clap a hand over her mouth; she'd said that louder than she'd meant to.

" _Where?"_

"Corner of Rich and Belmont. I might head north, I think," Pyrrha whispered into her phone. The crunch of grinding stone made her flinch, and she flattened herself further against the roof. "Or maybe I'll stay right here."

" _I'm sending a team to you. Stay hidden, if at all possible."_

Pyrrha opened her mouth to speak, only to whimper silently at the soft beep that told her Roman had hung up. More stone ground together, making her flinch again and mumble, "Yeah, like I needed to be told that. Asshole."

"Well, well, well," she heard Cinder say below her perch. "What have we here?"

"Huh?" Pyrrha mumbled, creeping closer to the roof's edge.

"Huh?" she heard someone else say – a young woman, by her voice.

"Wait, isn't that…?" Pyrrha mumbled, trailing off as she crawled ever closer to the edge.

"Miss Penny Polendina," Cinder murmured, making Pyrrha's blood run cold. "What brings a young woman like you to this part of town?"

"To… get… ice cream?" Penny asked, tilting her head to the side as she frowned at the older woman. "I'm sorry, have we met? You look… familiar…" She trailed off, eyes widening, as she remembered where she'd seen her before: she'd been in the pictures Ruby and Mercury had shown her of Raven. "Oh shit," Penny mumbled, backing away from her.

"Leaving so soon?" Cinder asked, barking out a laugh as she flicked her wrist at the redhead. Concrete flexed up from beneath Penny, rising in serpentine lengths that coiled around her legs and chest, making her scream in pain as they pressed against her far too tightly. "My, my, but don't you know? We're just getting started!

"Pyrrha Nikos!" Cinder shouted as she looked around, trying to find her prey. "I'm going to kill _one_ of you before the night's end! Come out, _now_ , and it'll be you instead of her!"

'Damn it, damn it, _damn it_!' Pyrrha's thoughts seemed to churn restlessly in her mind, but she couldn't think of anything even remotely helpful through the haze of panic that settled down around her.

"No?" Cinder asked, still scanning the streets and alleys around her. "I'm going to give you to the count of three, Nikos! One!"

"I'm right here!" Pyrrha announced, voice trembling as she stood up. Her hands shook as Cinder looked up at her and grinned, but she clenched them into fists and said, "Well? Let her go!"

"Make me, magnet!" Cinder shot back, her grin turning into a small smirk. She lifted a hand to Pyrrha, making her flinch – and making Cinder laugh. "Such a _scared_ little girl, aren't you? You should have thought of that before you got in my way!"

Penny screamed again, the coils of concrete wrapped around her shifting and squeezing her more tightly, producing an audible crack as they broke some of her ribs. "Pyrrha, _run_!" she shouted, startling both Pyrrha and Cinder. "Just go, get out of here!"

"Oh?" Cinder asked, smirk widening as she tightened her hold on the younger redhead even further, making her scream again – and sending a few drops of blood flying from her mouth. "So brave, for such a little thing. Much braver than the other one."

"I'll show you brave, bitch," Penny mumbled, grasping the concrete with her hands. She grit her teeth as it shifted, but mustered up her will using one of the exercises Ruby had taught her more than a year ago – and let loose a tremendous blast of flame right up against her body.

Pyrrha gasped and flinched, eyes shutting at the profound brightness that momentarily shoved light back into the night around them; Cinder only narrowed her eyes and squinted, though the thunderclap that followed made her grit her teeth. Not because it was loud or even annoying, though: combined with the flash of heat from Penny's flame, it was enough to shatter the concrete surrounding her.

"Now, then," Penny mumbled, wiping away some of the blood trailing from her mouth and doing her best to ignore both the pain in her chest and side and the fact that she'd burned away most of her dress. She lifted a shaky hand to Cinder and let loose the hottest jet of flame she'd ever conjured, hoping to end the fight with a single attack.

Only for Cinder to raise a hand and _catch_ the bundled fire. "Cute," she said as it burned away in her grasp without so much as singing her hand, "but now it's my turn."

She whipped her hand back at Penny, flinging a distortion into the air – one dramatically different from what Ruby usually sent her way, Penny realized. Whereas Ruby's looked heavy and full from compacted air, this one looked more wavy, light.

Like a heat shimmer.

Penny moved her hand to intercept it, conjuring fire in its path in a theory that felt hazy through the pain coating her thoughts. Whatever it had been, though, it didn't work.

She screamed in pain as the heat boiled against her shoulder, turning it red and splitting the skin nearly the instant it brushed against her. Steam – both white and pink – rose up from her arm as she fell to her knees, the raw agony of her flesh boiling making her vomit.

"Penny!" Pyrrha shouted, horror at the sight before her making her eyes widen.

"Well, it looks like you've made a liar of me, Miss Polendina," Cinder said, her amber eyes lighting up with twisted glee as she taunted her. "I said that I'd only kill one of you."

The concrete between them cracked and split, spitting out a tide of gritty sand as the edges ground against each other. The sand rose up before Cinder, who exercised her other talent to superheat it, turning it into molten glass; then, she inverted the excess of heat, turning it into a cold so intense that mist fell from the glass as it froze, turning into a slender, transparent spear – all within seconds, and with so little effort that Cinder couldn't help but chuckle.

Penny lifted her eyes defiantly, conjuring another jet of fire and slinging it at Cinder only for the geokinetic to brush away the heat as easily as she'd done before. She did it again, and again, making Cinder laugh again as she defended herself, slowly striding closer and closer with the spear in hand.

Finally, with a whimper, Penny gave up. She closed her eyes, accepted her coming death.

Only to open them again when she heard Pyrrha grunt, felt blood fall onto her head. Looking up, Penny whispered, "No…"

Pyrrha grit her teeth, spending what strength hadn't fled her body to keep herself from falling onto the redhead lying prone behind her. The glass spear had pierced her chest, stabbed clear through one of her lungs – at least, that's what she assumed; she tasted blood, so it was either that or she'd bitten her tongue or cheek without realizing it. "Bitch," Pyrrha spat.

Cinder growled at her, then spat to the side – revealing both a glob of blood and the broken remains of one of her teeth. She held a hand to her cheek, which was slowly turning red despite the cold she was gathering on it – the mark of one last, defiant punch.

"No, no, no," Penny mumbled, her injured arm cradled tightly against her chest as she crawled away, fear and pain urging her to retreat. She whined, tears blurring her vision, as she saw Pyrrha fall, collapsing onto her chest and pushing the spear out through her back. "Pyrrha…" Penny whimpered, shutting her eyes tightly – but not soon enough to keep from seeing those lifeless green eyes.

" _Now, I balance the scales."_

Penny's eyes opened wide as she felt energy course through her, starting at her cheek and scalp – where Pyrrha's blood had fallen – and singing down through her burned arm and partially caved-in chest. She screamed in pain as her flesh was regrown and her bones were mended by the strange power – only for righteous anger to replace her pain a moment later.

When she stopped screaming, breath coming in ragged heaves, she realized she'd risen to her feet – and held a pair of weapons, a sword and a dagger.

" _The Arms of a Devil, made fresh for a warrior seeking justice,"_ the voice said within Penny's mind. _"Would you like to learn their name?"_

"Rakuyo," Penny murmured, gripping her dual weapons tightly. Then, acting on instinct, she placed the bottoms of their hilts together and twisted, breathing in sharply when they screwed together and formed a nearly spear-length double-ended sword. However, her sudden breath drew the scent of blood into her nose, reminding her of what had just happened and breaking her from her momentary lapse of thought.

"You… You didn't have a Devil Arm," Cinder said, hands shaking as she grew more and more angry. "How? How do you have one now?"

"Balance," Penny said, though she didn't really understand it herself. She twirled her weapon, marveling at the way she knew precisely how to move to accomplish the feat of dexterity without so much as scratching herself. She'd heard stories of the Devil Arms – mostly from Ruby – and how they granted the ability to wield them to those who bore them, but they were so _rare_ ; even Ruby had only known about two of them, and that was only because Sun had been so open about his! "For a life taken, a life is owed," Penny continued, her heart skipping a beat – though the words had left her lips, she hadn't been the one to make them. "Choose: your own, or your master's?"

"Little bitch," Cinder growled, slinging her hand in a wild gesture that made stone rise up from beneath Penny again. This time, though, she was able to dodge, a burst of fire emerging from between her shoulder blades to help shove her out from between the coiling, serpentine lengths of concrete. Cinder growled wordlessly as she tried to snare Penny again, only to miss by inches when the young redhead flung herself into the air on twin columns of red flame.

Sand rose up around Cinder, making more holes in the ground beneath her, then launched at Penny in a rushing wave. She dodged, twisting away by manipulating the flames beneath her feet; they were already heatless and nearly solid, so all she needed to do was keep her balance as she moved the columns she stood on. Despite the flames themselves being cooler than the summer air, though, they still put out trails of heat the partially melted the sand that flew past her – something that made her wince and glance down at Pyrrha's body, still laying face-down outside of the ice cream store.

The reminder flooded her with rage.

Penny cried out as she threw herself at Cinder, swinging her sword in a flashing arc; she cried out again when it only met sand, which rose up around the older woman in an almost fluid-like tide. Still, the wild rush startled Cinder enough that Penny was able to wrest her blade from the sand and drift away without reprisal.

She growled up at her pyrokinetic foe as she gathered up more of her sand, flash-melting-and-freezing it into half a dozen arrows that floated before her, thanks to her own kinesis. She swept her hand at Penny, making the glass arrows dart towards her – but, despite their blurring quickness, Penny was able to bat them from the air with an almost stylish display, separating her sword and knife right as she parried the first.

"That damn Devil Arm!" Cinder murmured darkly, gathering the shards of glass within her power and throwing them at Penny like a storm throwing leaves. Penny spun in midair, the flames beneath her twisting gaily as she conjured a cylinder of solid flame between her and the glass. As the shards pinged off her barrier harmlessly, Cinder yelled in wordless anger.

With a swing of her sword, Penny sent a crescent of flame at Cinder, forcing the geokinetic to flex her hand and call up a curtain of stone between them. Before either could do any more, though, a river of compressed air slammed into Cinder's side and flung her out from behind her shield; as she rolled to a stop, she groaned, frustrated at the sight of the young woman who'd thrown her.

"Ruby!" Penny exclaimed, swooping down and landing beside her friend. "She… She killed…" she began, only to find she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"I know," Ruby said, her fists clenched so tightly that one of her knuckles had split open. As a drop of blood spilled from it and dripped to the ground, she said, "I got the shop's employees and customers out through the back, and at least two of them called the police."

"Oh, right," Penny said, suddenly feeling embarrassed – she hadn't considered what would happen to any civilians caught up in the fighting.

"That _means_ ," Ruby continued, briefly glancing back at her, "we only have a few minutes to deal with her. Go all out."

"Yes, sir!" Penny exclaimed, lifting her dual blades into a ready stance and weaving flames around them.

"Good," Ruby said, extending her hand – and summoning a sword with a long red blade. Penny, startled, jumped at the sight of it; she recognized it the instant she saw it. "Cinder Fall, servant of the Londal Family and its matriarch, Salem, I _demand_ you leave my city," she said, her tone even and commanding.

It was enough to make Cinder laugh. "Miss Rose," she said, her tone making it clear she was setting up a taunt.

" _Now_ , Cinder," Ruby said. "I won't say it again."

"It doesn't matter how many times you say it!" Cinder said with a laugh.

"Then you'll be my third," Ruby said simply, momentarily confusing Cinder – and scaring Penny.

Without another word, Ruby tilted herself forward and shot off the ground like a bullet, clearing the distance between her and Cinder so quickly that she left a screaming trail of broken air behind her. She swung her sword, the Devil Arm she'd taken from Raven's corpse, only to let out a grunt as it bit into a wall of sand rather than Cinder's flesh; the force of the impact was enough to dislocate her shoulder, though it had already reset itself by the time she flipped over her foe and settled into the air a dozen feet away.

'I'm faster than before,' Ruby noted to herself – both about her recovery and the speed of her charge. She repeated the attack before Cinder could recover, cleaving nothing but sand and dislocating her shoulder again as she sped by. 'And I can handle more G-forces, now, too,' she mused, noting the sonic boom she left in her wake and the distinct _lack_ of pain and nausea at the pair of sudden stops.

As Ruby attacked again, she swerved off to the side, deciding not to needlessly injure herself for a third time; instead, flames poured in from the side as Penny struck while Cinder was distracted.

'Outnumbered and off-tempo,' Cinder thought, growling wordlessly as she tapped her foot to the concrete and opened a hole into the ground beneath her. She shot a glare at Ruby before she vanished, the sudden sinkhole closing without a single tremor the moment she was through.

"Is she… Is she gone?" Penny asked. She stayed airborne until she saw Ruby descend to the ground and land beside Pyrrha's body, then drifted down herself and landed a few feet away.

"What happened, Penny?" Ruby asked, her voice breaking. Her eyes were closed, shut nearly as tight as her hand around her Devil Arm.

"She… Cinder was here looking for Pyrrha. I got roped into it, somehow, and Pyrrha… She…" Penny tried to say it, but couldn't. "After Cinder… I… I somehow had these," she said in a mumble, lifting her split Devil Arm. "And… And there was a voice in my head. Something about 'balancing the scales'?"

Ruby sighed, frustration and grief mixing together into something wholly unpleasant. "Was the voice sort of… stretchy?" she asked, trying to find the right words to describe it. "Like it was… somehow more meaningful than it was?"

Penny blinked at her repeatedly, then asked, "You… You've heard it?"

"Briefly. In the… In the fight with Raven," Ruby murmured, dismissing her sword in a flash of light. The display made Penny realize she was still holding her own weapons, but the moment she wondered how she'd dismiss them herself she realized she knew how. "It wanted to make a tornado to try to balance things back then, but I told it to stop. If… Would it have… Why did this happen?!" Ruby's voice broke, and she fell to her knees and wept beside Pyrrha's body. "Why does this keep happening?! Why do they keep taking everything from us?!"

Penny, overwhelmed by the display from the normally chipper and upbeat girl, found that she couldn't speak; she felt like she could barely breathe. Still, she knelt beside Ruby and embraced her, letting her cry into her shoulder.

"Shh," Penny whispered, rubbing her sobbing best friend's back – she wanted to do something, _anything_ , to help Ruby with her grief, but that was the only thing she could think of. "Just… Just shh."

They were still there minutes later when the police arrived. Ruby offered to call Pyrrha's parents to tell them, but the officer in charge only had to look at her once to see she was in no state to deal with something like that; instead, he asked Penny to escort her home.

That only made Ruby start crying again.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

"I see," Roman said. He sat at his desk once more, fingers interlaced before him as he processed what he'd just seen. "This is… certainly conclusive."

Mercury remained silent. He'd been able to overhear Roman giving orders, sending his agents to Pyrrha in an attempt to save her from Cinder – and then he'd overheard the scream of rage, one he'd ached to echo himself. After that, showing him evidence that Velvet Scarlatina had double-crossed him seemed dirty.

"Nothing to say, Mercury?" Roman asked, his voice tight. "You've just proven that one of my most trusted associates has been working for the enemy this entire time. I expected gloating."

Mercury closed his eyes and sighed. "Pyrrha was a friend, sir," he said softly, surprising the crime lord. "She… I wasn't doing well in school, back when I was still in it. She noticed, offered to help – and then kept trying even after I brushed her off. She came up with study guides, gave tips to Emerald in the hopes she'd pass them on to me… My experience with her may have been limited, sir, but… She was a friend," he repeated with a sorrowful shake of his head.

"Her loss hurts us all," Roman murmured. His eyes closed as he took a deep breath, then opened again as he said, "Velvet is nearly here, Mercury. I expect you to see what you've wrought."

"Her death is on me, whether I see it or not. I'd have asked to stay and witness it anyway, sir," Mercury said, prompting a dark chuckle from Roman.

"Then I hope you have no qualms with holding the knife, Assassin."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Cainhurst was an old city, one that always managed to make Cinder nervous. Tension wound itself inside her, coiling like a spring in her midsection and never quite going away no matter what she did.

It wasn't fear. She kept telling herself that it wasn't fear, that it would never be fear, that Salem had taken her all of her fear away.

Still, Cinder took her time as she walked through the lengthy corridors, letting her eyes catch on every tapestry and painting that cradled the stone walls and every embroidered rug that kept the cold permeating the stone floor from seeping through her boots and into her feet.

Not for the first time, she wondered why Cainhurst was always so cold. It wasn't as far north as it would need to be for it to ignore the summer heat, much less for the occasional bout of snow that came gusting through the city right at the season's end.

She shivered, pulling her coat tighter around herself. It wasn't the cold that had gotten to her this time, though; it was that coiled tension again, seeking to make her believe she was afraid.

She wasn't. She was right to be wary, however, considering how long it had been since her return. A full month had passed since she'd first reported her outstanding failure in Yharnum, how every subordinate she'd had either turned against her or died. Even her liaison, Velvet, had stopped contacting her; it was easy to assume she was dead.

Finally, Cinder reached the wooden doors leading to her master's audience chamber, realizing that her every thought during her lengthy walk up had only served to distract her.

She was afraid.

Cinder dipped a hand into her pocket as she knocked, letting herself feel the glass vial within. Eventually, the doors opened – by themselves, a sight she was more than used to at this point – to reveal an ornate display of red and purple velvet leading to a throne leafed with gold, of a dozen statues of gods and goddesses in various states of dress and undress lining each wall, and of her master.

Salem was not a young woman, but she didn't look much older than Cinder, either. With not a wrinkle on her face, but with skin nearly as stark and white as her hair, she looked to be a random mix of traits cobbled together from various ages. Her dress seemed to reflect that as well, bearing the uniquely-shaped neckline that had been fashionable centuries ago, a skirt that fell into arrow-shaped ribbons halfway down her calves, and lent a flare to her hips and bust that could only be from modern fashion.

"Cinder," Salem began as Cinder knelt before her, her heart racing at the sight of her master, "I trust that this time has allowed you to reflect on your actions."

"Yes, my lord," Cinder said, swallowing at the lump that had formed in her throat.

"Because it seems that every choice you made regarding Yharnum has only weakened our chances at holding the city," Salem continued, making Cinder flinch. "Bringing Branwen along cost us not only a powerful weapon, but many more to come, thanks to your management of our most unique asset. Your liaison has likely either been discovered and executed, thanks to your personal servants deserting, or has turned against us as easily as she turned to our side. Even your half-assed attempt at recording Roman Torchwick in his role as the Candle was easily foiled, and your overly emotional attempt at revenge against a teenaged girl nearly resulted in your death. Tell me: why should I _not_ kill you?" she asked simply. "What _possible_ reason could there be to keep a worthless creature like you alive?"

Cinder swallowed again, then drew the glass vial from her pocket. "This, my lord," Cinder said, needing to fight back her fear to raise her voice above a whisper.

"And what, precisely, do you hold, Cinder?"

"Two months ago, that earthquake that broke Yharnum into pieces… It opened holes in the ground. Some of those holes led to ancient catacombs, things that eluded all modern imaging devices," Cinder began, forcing herself to use the explanation she'd prepared during the last month. "Within these catacombs are shrines of some sort; many of them have statues depicting creatures I can barely describe, much less guess the names of, but all of them have a trough of blood sitting before them."

"And?"

"I've had some scientists look at this blood, my lord. Despite being fluid when I found it, they believed it to be more than a thousand years old."

"Is that so? Where are these scientists now, Cinder?"

"I… I had them killed, my lord. This is something that must remain secret if we are to use it effectively."

"We, hmm? That's rather presumptuous at this point. Since you're betting your life on this blood, though, I'm quite interested to see what it does that's so special. It does do something, yes? You didn't waste my time on a curiosity, yes?" Salem asked, her tone making it very clear what that would mean.

"It… My lord, it would be best to show you," Cinder said. She set down the vial of blood and tugged off the glove she wore on her left hand, revealing her fingers – even those Salem had taken from her as punishment for her first failure. "It can provide regenerative effects, my lord. Through my investigations in Yharnum, however, I've discovered that it can do so much more. It removed a shard of glass from a young woman's throat, cured another of a persistent auto-immune disease, and corrected the flaws in two different abilities: in a Goliath, it granted precise control of her strength; in a Bloodmaker, it reduced the caloric-intake requirements when uninjured."

"Now that is interesting, Cinder," Salem said, a smirk twisting her lips. "But is it enough to save your life?"

"That is not for me to decide, my lord. I leave that to my betters, and to you most of all," Cinder said, uttering the rehearsed line as she bowed her head.

"Then I shall grant it to you – for now."

"Thank you, my lord. I live to serve."

"However, Yharnum is currently beyond our reach," Salem said, lazily waving a hand to one of the statues along the room's western edge. Depicting a rather attractive woman, despite her excess of arms and the serpentine tail she had instead of legs, it held a glass sphere larger than a human's head – one that lit up with what seemed to be a new program about the recent reveal of powered people. "As you can see," Salem continued, needing no effort to be heard over the reporter's voice as it came from the sphere, "there is too much attention on the city for us to work within it. It will take time for the dust to settle, whether on the side of those with powers, or that of those who shun them."

"I understand, my lord."

"Good. When you are ready for an assignment, report to Dr. Watts. I'm sure he'll find something to occupy your time."

"My lord?" Cinder asked, lifting her head. Her eyes were wide with alarm, something that only made the matriarch laugh.

"Did you think it would be easy to regain my favor, Ms. Fall?" Salem asked mockingly, making Cinder flinch. "No. If you were truly that foolish, you would not have managed to gain it in the first place. You will be his subordinate until I say otherwise, and will do whatever he tells you to without complaint – or I'll make everything you did to your own seem like a day at the beach. Am. I. Clear?"

"Yes, my lord. Without question."

"Good. Now, leave me."

"Yes, my lord."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

Finally done with Part 2!

I'm not really sure when I'll start working on Part 3 – much less when it'll start going up – but know that it'll take place about 9 years in the future. Ruby being a freshly promoted homicide detective with Yharnum's police force will be the crux of the tale, but you'll also get to see the very beginning of the Beast Plague, too.

Due to the length of time between Parts – in the story, not in real life – I am planning on writing an interlude to put into this as well. It will be very slice of life, having Ruby come back after finishing college and getting the degree she needs to start at a police academy; she'll spend time with whoever she crosses paths with, but I've got plans for Neo, Penny, and Yang (they _are_ her girlfriend, best friend, and sister, after all).

Until next time, then!


End file.
